When surgical implants are used to control pain, which is rare, there are two main types:
- Intrathecal drug delivery. This is also called an infusion pain pump or a spinal drug delivery system that gets medication directly into the intrathecal space around the spinal cord.
- Spinal cord stimulation implants. In spinal cord stimulation, low-level electrical signals are transmitted to your spinal cord or to specific nerves to block pain signals from reaching the brain.