New paper: SCS for pain control and movement

REVIEW

Overlapping mechanisms of epidural spinal cord stimulation for pain control and movement recovery

Joiner, Evan F. 1; Bikson, Marom 2; Carmel, Jason B. 2

1 Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

2 Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York

3 Department of Neurology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA

Current Opinion in Neurology ():10.1097/WCO.0000000000001433, October 13, 2025. | DOI: 10.1097/WCO.0000000000001433

KEY POINTS

  • Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for pain control and movement recovery have developed using overlapping technologies (dose) but parallel conceptual frameworks.

  • While the pain field has traditionally focused on targeting the dorsal columns, the movement recovery field has emphasized activating afferents near the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ).

  • In the absence of large differences in recruitment thresholds and/or steep recruitment curves, selective activation of dorsal columns versus dorsal root fibers may not be practical.

  • Further investigation of mechanistic overlap between SCS for pain and movement recovery may yield therapeutic insights for both fields.

Marom Bikson