External electrical stimulation. As a treatment of chronic pain

Cutaneously applied electrical stimulation appears to be a feasible means of treatment for a significant percentage of patients incapacitated by chronic pain. The initial beneficial effects upon the pain appear to be maintained for at least one year and most kinds of chronic somatic pain respond at least in part to this form of therapy. Patients with central pain and severe peripheral neuropathies are rarely benefited. Patients with psychogenic pain have routinely been worsened or at best not helped on a long term basis by these stimulation procedures. While it is still premature to categorize the benefits of cutaneous electrical stimulation in pain treatment it does seem likely that this form of therapy will play an expanding role in the management of chronic pain.