DRG for Persistent Spinal Pain: Supportive in Rehabilitation?

"Spinal restoration" neuromodulation is shifting the goal from symptom suppression alone to restoring impaired motor control, stability, and function in degenerative spine phenotypes. In this session, faculty will present a clinically actionable framework that integrates PNS (lumbar medial branch/multifidus restorative stimulation), DRG stimulation (focal dermatomal targeting for axial and mixed low back pain), and SCS (systems-level modulation for pain and emerging applications in locomotor/gait dysfunction). Restorative neurostimulation targeting the lumbar medial branch nerve has shown durable improvements in pain, disability, and quality of life in patients with chronic mechanical low back pain and multifidus dysfunction, emphasizing a rehabilitative mechanism (repetitive multifidus contractions to improve neuromuscular control). We will then connect these "stability-first" concepts to DRG strategies for chronic low back pain (e.g., bilateral T12 DRG approaches with multidomain improvements), highlighting how targeted dorsal root engagement may complement restorative PNS or salvage inadequate outcomes. Finally, we will review emerging and controversial literature on SCS for gait and movement-related dysfunction (including Parkinson disease-associated gait impairment), emphasizing patient selection, mechanistic hypotheses, and how to design responsible clinical pathways when evidence quality varies. The session is case-based and algorithmic: attendees will leave with phenotype-driven decision trees for degenerative mechanical back pain with multifidus dysfunction, mixed axial/radicular presentations, and functional gait/locomotor impairment, including practical escalation steps across PNS, DRG and SCS (and combinations) while tracking functional endpoints (ODI/QoL/gait metrics).