Sacral neuromodulation for chronic pain conditions.

Some of the pelvic pain syndromes seem to have features of neurogenic inflammation and neuropathic pain in common. As opposed to being separate disease entities, they may represent a spectrum of clinical presentations of CRPS I of the pelvis. Sacral nerve root stimulation provides good symptomatic relief of pain and voiding dysfunction. The techniques of retrograde root stimulation may offer superior results with fewer complications and lead migrations when compared with other methods. Perhaps neuromodulation should be used earlier in the treatment paradigm for these disorders, before the potentially injurious procedures of hydrodistention, bladder installations, and cystectomies.