Dr. Richard H. Bundschu, an interventional pain management specialist with Coastal Orthopedics, was one of 12 physicians nationwide whose high-frequency spinal cord stimulation research was recently published in Neurosurgery, the official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Select physicians were chosen to validate utilizing Nevro’s HF10 technology, a paresthesia-independent therapy, in the treatment of neck and upper limb pain. High-frequency spinal cord stimulation at 10 kHz has been proven effective in the treatment of chronic back and leg pain. Prior to this trial, however, a study of pain in the cervical spine had yet to be performed and published. HF10 therapy is unique in that in addition to eliminating the need to establish paresthesia mapping and coverage, it also eliminates the risk of uncomfortable stimulation due to positional variation, which can compromise neck and upper limb pain relief with low-frequency spinal cord stimulation. Following the study, patients with neck pain reported a 79.1 percent pain relief while those with upper limb pain experienced 85.9 percent pain relief. More importantly, 89.2 percent of patients with neck pain and 95 percent of patients with upper limb pain reported approximately 50 percent pain relief at 12 months. Dr. Bundschu has been a leading pain management researcher for several years and previously worked with Nevro on two studies, including a 2012 randomized, controlled trial on lower back pain, that have helped the company’s groundbreaking products earn U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. The results of the high-frequency spinal cord stimulation at 10 kHz study were superior to those that Dr. Bundschu and his team tabulated during that landmark study. 

To read the full report and results from the study, click here.