[Electric stimulation in the treatment of chronic pain]

Electrical stimulation in the treatment of chronic pain, though an old method, has become very attractive again in the last ten years. The use of transcutaneous, percutaneous and implanted stimulating devices is discussed. Although the method is sometimes contested and the mechanism of action not yet clear, it can no longer be ignored. Even if the clinical successes are in the long run only limited, the application of the method must be considered. If only one in three or four patients is still painfree after a few years by the use of an implanted electrical stimulating device, it is a tremendous boon for this particular patient when all other kinds of conservative and surgical treatment have failed.