Dorsal root ganglion stimulation in the treatment of complex regional pain syndrome, following a spinal cord injury

Abstract

Complex regional pain syndrome is a chronic pain condition that presents symptoms from the autonomous nervous system, as well as motor and sensory disturbances. Thus, because of the complexity of its symptoms, it becomes difficult to find the appropriate treatment for this syndrome.

The aim of this thesis, is to examine the effectiveness of dorsal root ganglion stimulation as a treatment for complex regional pain syndrome, following a spinal cord injury. The research strategy, for the identification of the relevant literature, included data retrieved from articles in English, from Greek and foreign bibliography, as well as from internet sources. The results showed great effectiveness for dorsal root ganglion stimulation, in comparison with other conventional treatments. According to several studies, significant improvement was observed in the fields of patients’ pain relief and mood and quality of life, while excellent pain-paresthesia overlap was reported. Furthermore, due to the unique anatomical position of the dorsal root ganglion, no lead migrations or differences in paresthesia’s intensity -due to postural changes- were reported. In addition, according to long-term outcomes, therapy habituation did not occur in patients that had dorsal root ganglion stimulation treatment and as a result, there was no loss of the therapeutic effect over time. Thus, dorsal root ganglion stimulation for complex regional pain syndrome following a spinal cord injury, is estimated to be beneficial. Nevertheless, more research is needed in order to receive more accurate results.