TITLE:
Progress in Spinal Cord Electrical Stimulation for Spinal Cord Injury
AUTHORS:
Longbiao Xu, Lei Hao, Tiewu Chen, Jinben Yu, Junkai Li, Yuchen Wang
KEYWORDS:
Spinal Cord Electrical Stimulation, Spinal Cord Injury, Pain, Motor Function, Sensory Function
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Clinical Medicine,
Vol.16 No.11,
November
25,
2025
ABSTRACT: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a severe neurological disorder, with its incidence rising steadily each year. Following SCI, patients commonly experience sensory, motor, and autonomic nervous system dysfunction. The prolonged treatment duration and high medical costs impose a significant burden on both patients and their families. With the study of the mechanism of spinal cord injury, spinal cord electrical stimulation (SCS), as a new neuromodulation technique, has shown great potential in the field of spinal cord injury treatment. Evidence indicates that various stimulation paradigms—such as low-frequency, high-frequency, and variable-intensity stimulation—can effectively improve motor function, respiratory capacity, spasticity, and neuropathic pain by modulating neuronal excitability, enhancing neural plasticity, and regulating neural network dynamics. Although SCS therapy still faces technical challenges, with the continuous development of electrode design, stimulation strategies, and individualized treatment, SCS is expected to provide more effective rehabilitation for patients with spinal cord injury. In this paper, the present status and progress of spinal cord electrical stimulation on pain and motor sensory dysfunction in patients with spinal cord injury were reviewed, and the prospect of extensive application of spinal cord electrical stimulation in the field of spinal cord injury was discussed. The shortcomings of current spinal cord electrical stimulation research were analyzed, and it is expected to have a guiding role in future clinical work and clinical research.