Innovations in Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain Management

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has become a cornerstone of neuromodulatory interventions for chronic pain, offering relief where conventional pharmacological or surgical treatments often fail. In recent years, technological innovations such as high-frequency, burst stimulation, and closed-loop systems have expanded the therapeutic landscape, providing more personalized and effective options for patients. With advances in device engineering, waveforms, and patient-specific targeting, SCS is evolving from a static intervention into a dynamic, adaptive therapy.

Despite remarkable progress, challenges remain in optimizing stimulation parameters, ensuring long-term efficacy, and improving patient selection. Variability in clinical outcomes highlights the need for deeper mechanistic understanding, integration of biomarker-guided approaches, and the development of adaptive, closed-loop SCS systems. This Research Topic aims to bring together engineers, clinicians, neuroscientists, and industry experts to address these challenges, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, and propose innovative solutions that enhance both efficacy and patient quality of life.

Scope and Information for Authors

We welcome submissions that explore:
• Advances in SCS waveforms, frequencies, and stimulation paradigms
• Closed-loop and adaptive systems for personalized therapy
• Engineering innovations in device and lead design
• Biomarker-driven patient selection and optimization strategies
• Long-term outcome studies and real-world evidence

We encourage original research, clinical trials, reviews, perspectives, and translational studies.

Topic Editor Dr. Alexander Taghva received financial support from Abbott and Medtronic. The other Topic Editors declare no competing interests with regard to the Research Topic subject.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Systematic Review

Keywords: Neuromodulation, Closed-loop stimulation Adaptive therapy, Biomarkers, Waveform engineering, Patient-specific targeting, Spinal cord stimulation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.