History of peripheral nerve stimulation.

Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is an established neuromodulation approach that has been successfully used for the treatment of various painful conditions since the early 1960s. This review provides a comprehensive summary of relevant publications on PNS dividing its history into three distinct periods. The milestones of the field are related to the development of procedures, equipment and indications. As the most rapidly growing segment of operative neuromodulation, PNS continues to evolve as current and emerging clinical indications become matched by basic and clinical research, technological developments and procedural refinements.