Percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation improved bladder symptoms in a patient whose spinal disc herniation compressed sacral nerves.
A patient with worsening lower spinal disc herniation, confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging to compress sacral nerves, experienced urinary urgency, weak urine flow, and nighttime urination. During two hospital admissions, she received daily electrical stimulation through acupuncture needles placed near the ankle for ten days. Clinicians assessed urinary symptoms, pain, and physical disability before and after treatment.
Bladder symptoms improved substantially after stimulation during both admissions, alongside reduced pain and disability. Recovery of urination was slower during the second admission, when nerve compression and chronic disease appeared more severe, suggesting that the treatment may offer a conservative option for bladder dysfunction caused by spinal disc-related sacral nerve compression.
