Patent ID: 8359101

Claim:
A method of treating chronic discogenic pain in a patient, the method comprising: advancing an introducer into the patient proximate to a facet joint of the patient to a site that is adjacent to a disc of the patient; advancing a stimulation lead with a plurality of electrodes through the introducer device; conducting medical imaging to provide visualization of the stimulation lead relative to the disc of the patient; steering the stimulation lead, using a stiffening stylet, while advancing the stimulation lead out of the introducer device to follow a path within the patient that generally follows a path about or within the disc of the patient while the medical imaging is conducted; coupling the stimulation lead to an implantable pulse generator; testing a plurality of stimulation parameters to identify an optimal stimulation pattern for the patient; and operating the implantable pulse generator, according to the optimal stimulation pattern, over at least multiple days to generate electrical pulses for delivery to tissue of the patient to treat chronic discogenic pain of the patient.