Successful Treatment of Cervical Dystonia With Temporary Peripheral Nerve Stimulation of the Medial Branch Nerves: A Case Report.

BACKGROUND

Cervical dystonia can be a difficult source of neck pain to treat, with pain from both nociceptive and nonnociceptive sources. Botulinum toxin as the mainstay of treatment carries approximately 10% failure rate in these patients, leaving them with debilitating pain. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is a proven pain management technique, and until now, PNS has not been reported as a treatment for refractory cervical dystonia.

CASE REPORT: We present a case where temporary PNS is successfully used to treat refractory cervical dystonia by targeting the cervical medial branch nerves.

CONCLUSIONS

We believe temporary PNS has good utility as treatment for refractory cervical dystonia. Using PNS can provide immediate and long-lasting relief of their dystonia symptoms and can mitigate the need for a permanent implant.