Am I a Candidate for Spinal Cord Stimulation?
May 02, 2026
If you’re researching spinal cord stimulation (SCS), chances are you’ve already tried other options.
Medications. Physical therapy. Injections. Maybe even surgery.
And yet, the pain is still there.
That’s often the point where we start talking about something different — not just another version of the same treatment, but a different way of approaching pain altogether.
At SamWell Institute for Pain Management in New Jersey, Dr. Jay M. Shah specializes in advanced therapies like spinal cord stimulation for patients who haven’t found relief elsewhere.
Spinal cord stimulation doesn’t fix the underlying structure; it changes how your brain receives pain signals.
A small device delivers mild electrical impulses to the spinal cord, interrupting pain signals before they reach your brain.
That’s why it’s often most effective for nerve-related pain.
Before we place anything permanent, we perform a temporary trial. If you experience meaningful relief — typically around 50% or more — then we consider moving forward with a long-term implant.
This isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. But there are clear patterns we look for.
Spinal cord stimulation is designed for chronic pain, not something new or temporary.
In most cases, candidates have been dealing with persistent pain for at least six months, often much longer.
We don’t jump to SCS first.
Most patients have already tried:
If those haven’t provided enough relief, it may be time to consider a different approach.
This is one of the biggest factors.
Spinal cord stimulation works best for neuropathic pain — pain that comes from irritated or damaged nerves.
That includes conditions Dr. Shah commonly treats with SCS, such as:
These are exactly the types of conditions where traditional treatments often fall short — and where SCS can make a meaningful difference.
Sometimes surgery isn’t the right answer anymore.
Maybe you’ve already had a procedure that didn’t resolve the pain. Or maybe there isn’t a clear structural problem left to fix.
In those cases, SCS often becomes a strong next step — not as a last resort, but as a more appropriate strategy.
We typically use spinal cord stimulation for chronic, non-cancer-related pain.
If a malignancy is causing your pain, other treatment pathways are usually more appropriate.
We review your full medical history before making any recommendations.
Certain conditions — such as having a pacemaker or other implanted electrical devices — may affect whether SCS is a safe option.
This is something we take seriously.
Chronic pain and mental health are closely connected. To get the best outcome, we want to make sure you’re in a good place to move forward with treatment and recovery.
That doesn’t mean everything has to be perfect. It just means we’re looking at the full picture — not just the pain itself.
One of the goals of spinal cord stimulation is to help reduce the need for ongoing pain medication.
Many people are ready for that. If you’re looking for a way to move away from long-term medication use, SCS may be worth considering.
This is one of the most unique parts of spinal cord stimulation.
Before committing to a permanent device, we test it.
During the trial phase, we place temporary leads so you can experience what the therapy feels like in real life.
If your pain improves significantly, that tells us a permanent implant is likely to help.
If it doesn’t, we don’t move forward.
There’s a common assumption that spinal cord stimulation is something you try only when everything else has failed completely.
In reality, it’s better to think of it as a different category of treatment.
Instead of continuing to chase pain with medications or repeated procedures, SCS changes how the pain signal is processed in the first place.
For the right patient, that shift can be significant.
If you’re wondering whether you might be a candidate, call SamWell Institute for Pain Management in Livingston, Colonia, or Englewood, New Jersey, to schedule an appointment with our team, or book online. We can walk through your history, evaluate your condition, and help you decide whether this approach makes sense for you.