User Guide

Patient Trial Handbook 2 What is Spinal Cord Stimulation? Most pain signals travel from the source problem or injury area to nerve pathways to the spine, then up the spine and to the brain. SCS uses electrical stimulation of the spinal cord to block the perception of those signals. To apply the stimulation, a small electrical pulse generator is connected to one or two wires, called leads, which are placed along your spinal cord. The stimulator, internal or external, sends pulses of a low electrical current to a series of metal contacts, called electrodes, located at the end of the lead(s). The “feeling” produced by this stimulation is a light sensation called paresthesia. Thousands of SCS patients consider paresthesia not only a pleasant substitute feeling, but also an effective and welcome relief from pain. It’s important to understand that spinal cord stimulation cannot cure pain or eliminate its cause. It does, however, provide control of and relief from certain types of pain over the area where the paresthesia is felt. Spinal cord stimulation is a treatment choice designed to provide you with the most effective pain relief over the widest pain area possible. When that goal is reached with the Precision™ system, you should experience good to excellent relief from chronic pain.