Dorsal root ganglion neurostimulation therapy effectively decreased pain, increased function and created a clinically important improvement in patient impression of change among those with chronic lower extremity and back pain, according to a presenter at the Anesthesiology Annual Meeting.

“People in our study who had DRG stimulation reported significant improvement in pain even after a year, which is notable,” Robert J. McCarthy, PharmD, lead author of the study and professor of anesthesiology at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said in a release from the American Society of Anesthesiologists. “They had tried numerous therapies, from drugs to spinal cord stimulation to surgery, but got little to no lasting pain relief. For most, DRG stimulation improved their quality of life.”