ReviewPain medicine (Malden, Mass.)2020
Mechanism of Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in Chronic Pain.
Review in Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 89 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of Transcutaneous Posterior Tibial Nerve Stimulation on Pain and Quality of Life in Patients With Fibromyalgia: a Single-blind, Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of Percutaneous Peripheral Nerve Stimulation on Neck and Low Back Pain: a Quadruple-blinded, Randomized Clinical Trial
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 139 citations in OpenAlex.
- The efficacy of acupuncture treatment for fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Peripheral Nerve Stimulation in Postoperative Analgesia: A Narrative Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2024Pooled it
- Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Health Technology Assessment.Ontario health technology assessment series · 2024Pooled it
- Efficacy of neuromobilization in the treatment of low back pain: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Peripheral nerve stimulation for chronic knee pain following total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review.Pain management · 2023Pooled it
- Short-term efficacy of peripheral nerve stimulation for essential tremor in a randomized double-blind controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Resonance massage tool effects in non-migraine headache management.Journal of oral & facial pain and headache · 2025Trial
- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for fibromyalgia-like syndrome in patients with Long-COVID: a pilot randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Efficacy of recurrent transcutaneous magnetic stimulation in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: Multicenter randomized trial.Pain practice : the official journal of World Institute of Pain · 2023Trial
- Effects of whole-body vibration on neuropathic pain and the relationship between pain and spasticity in persons with spinal cord injury.Spinal cord · 2022Trial
- Music and low-frequency vibrations for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain in elderly: A pilot study.PloS one · 2021Trial
- Percutaneous brachial plexus peripheral nerve stimulation for cancer-related upper extremity pain: a novel technical approach.Interventional pain medicine · 2026Article
- Neuromodulation for Pain and Fatigue in Hereditary and Acquired Neuromuscular Conditions: A Narrative Review.Current pain and headache reports · 2026Review
- Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Perioperative Care in Oncologic Surgical Cases: A Narrative Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Comparing 2-Hz and 100-Hz Electroacupuncture for Postoperative Musculoskeletal Pain: Protocol for a 2 × 2 Prospective Randomized Crossover Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Effect of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Patients with Postherpetic Neuralgia and Comorbid Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Pain and therapy · 2026Article
- Quality of ChatGPT-Generated Responses to Common Patient Questions About Peripheral Nerve Stimulation: A Cross-Sectional Study.Clinics and practice · 2026Article
- Emerging Nonpharmacologic Analgesic Technologies in Anesthesia: Mechanisms, Evidence, and Future Directions for Pharmacologic Alternatives.Biomedicines · 2026Review
- Closed-loop wearable neurostimulation system with triboelectric sensing to alleviate hemifacial spasms.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Comparative Efficacy of Invasive and Non-Invasive Neuromodulation Techniques for Chronic Central and Peripheral Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
introductionWith the advancement of technology, peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) has been increasingly used to treat various chronic pain conditions. Its origin is based on the gate control theory postulated by Wall and Melzack in 1965. However, the exact mechanism behind PNS' analgesic effect is largely unknown. In this article, we performed a comprehensive literature review to overview the PNS mechanism of action.
designA comprehensive literature review on the mechanism of PNS in chronic pain.
methodsComprehensive review of the available literature on the mechanism of PNS in chronic pain. Data were derived from database searches of PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library and manual searches of bibliographies and known primary or review articles.
resultsAnimal, human, and imaging studies have demonstrated the peripheral and central analgesic mechanisms of PNS by modulating the inflammatory pathways, the autonomic nervous system, the endogenous pain inhibition pathways, and involvement of the cortical and subcortical areas.
conclusionsPeripheral nerve stimulation exhibits its neuromodulatory effect both peripherally and centrally. Further understanding of the mechanism of PNS can help guide stimulation approaches and parameters to optimize the use of PNS.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.