From Pain Relief to Multidimensional Outcomes: A Structured Narrative Review of Success Language in a PubMed/MEDLINE...

Background/Objectives: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is usually evaluated through pain relief, yet the published language of therapeutic success is broader. This structured narrative review examined success language in the SCS literature to map how outcome terminology has accumulated across domains. Methods: A PubMed/MEDLINE corpus was retrieved on 23 May 2026 using the strategy ("Spinal Cord Stimulation"[Mesh] OR "Spinal Cord Stimulation"[Title/Abstract]). The search returned 5719 records from 1961 to 2026. Title-and-abstract screening was performed independently by two authors, with pre-consensus agreement of 99.77% (Cohen's κ = 0.995). After screening, 3687 records were retained for thematic narrative synthesis. Results: Pain relief or analgesic response appeared in 3550 retained records (96.3%) and remained the dominant outcome language across decades. Additional domains accumulated around it: function, quality of life, and sleep (72.5%); durability (55.5%); complications and device burden (51.0%); trial stimulation (44.1%); patient selection (40.5%); paresthesia coverage (29.9%); patient preference (24.5%); economic or occupational outcomes (22.8%); stimulation paradigm (21.9%); and medication use (21.3%). Physiological-feedback language was separated into mechanism-related language, objective monitoring, and evoked compound action potential (ECAP)-controlled closed-loop feedback. Conclusions: Within this corpus, SCS success emerged as a layered concept: analgesia remained central but was increasingly reported alongside other outcome domains rather than standing as the sole reported marker of therapeutic success. Importantly, this review maps the published language of outcome reporting, not clinical practice, payer behaviour, or any formal redefinition of treatment success; the findings should not be read as evidence that SCS success is now uniformly defined in multidimensional terms, and this scope is essential when interpreting the findings.