Dataset Information

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and heat to reduce pain in a chronic low back pain population: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The therapeutic management of patients with chronic LBP is challenging.

Objectives

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of heat and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation combined on pain relief in participants with chronic low back pain.

Methods

Fifty participants with chronic (?3 months) low back pain were randomly assigned to two groups: HeatTens (n=25) and control group (n=25). Primary outcome was pain. Secondary outcomes were pressure pain thresholds, temporal summation, conditioned pain modulation, fear-avoidance and beliefs questionnaire, central sensitization inventory, quality of life, and medication use. The control group received no treatment and continued usual care. After four weeks of treatment, all measurements were repeated.

Results

Fifty individuals participated in this study. Significant higher pressure pain threshold measures after both 30min and 4 weeks for the lower back region and the second plantar toe were found only in the experimental group.

Conclusion

The combination of heat and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation does not reduce pain scores in patients with chronic low back pain. Pressure pain threshold values significantly improved, showing beneficial effects of the experimental treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03643731 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03643731).

SUBMITTER: Leemans L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7817858 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and heat to reduce pain in a chronic low back pain population: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Leemans Lynn L Elma Ömer Ö Nijs Jo J Wideman Timothy H TH Siffain Carolie C den Bandt Hester H Van Laere Sven S Beckwée David D

Brazilian journal of physical therapy 20200512 1

<h4>Background</h4>Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. The therapeutic management of patients with chronic LBP is challenging.<h4>Objectives</h4>The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of heat and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation combined on pain relief in participants with chronic low back pain.<h4>Methods</h4>Fifty participants with chronic (≥3 months) low back pain were randomly assigned to two groups: HeatTens (n=25) and control group (n=25). Prima ...[more]

PMID: 32434666

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Project description:Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a non-invasive therapeutic intervention that is typically used for many years to treat chronic pain in patients who are refractory to pain medications. However, evidence of the efficacy of TENS treatment for neuropathic pain is lacking in humans. To further understand the efficacy of TENS under various intervention conditions and illuminate the current circumstance and future research directions, we systematically reviewed animal studies investigating the efficacy of TENS in relieving pain in neuropathic pain rodent models. We searched the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE (via PubMed), and Web of Science and identified 11 studies. Two meta-analyses were performed. The first meta-analysis showed that a single TENS treatment was capable of temporarily ameliorating neuropathic pain when compared to control groups with a significant effect (standardized mean difference: 1.54; 95% CI: 0.65, 2.42; p = 0.0007; I 2 = 58%). Significant temporary alleviation in neuropathic pain intensity was also observed in the meta-analysis of repetitive TENS (standardized mean difference: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.31, 1.40; p = 0.002; I 2 = 75%). Subgroup analysis showed no effect of the timing of the application of TENS (test for subgroup difference, p = 0.47). Leave-one-out sensitivity analyses suggested that no single study had an outsized effect on the pooled estimates, which may partly prove the robustness of these findings. Other stratified analyses were prevented by the insufficient number of included studies. Overall, current data suggest that TENS might be a promising therapy to ameliorate neuropathic pain. However, the high risk of bias in the included studies suggests that cautions must be considered when interpreting these findings and it is not reasonable to directly generalize the results obtained from animal studies to clinical practice. Future studies should pay more attention to improving the quality of study design and reporting, thereby facilitating the understanding of mechanisms underlying TENS treatment, reducing more potentially unsuccessful clinical trials, and optimizing the efficacy of TENS for people with neuropathic pain.

Project description:BackgroundObesity is widely recognized for its role in predisposing individuals to a spectrum of chronic health conditions. Emerging preliminary evidence points to the potential benefits of low-frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (Lo-TENS) in enhancing various health outcomes among those with obesity and associated disorders.ObjectiveThis systematic review was designed to assess the effectiveness of Lo-TENS for managing obesity and its related chronic diseases.MethodsFor this systematic review, we included randomized controlled trials that evaluated the impact of Lo-TENS on individuals with obesity and its associated chronic diseases.ResultsEight trials encompassing 671 participants and spanning three unique populations: essential hypertension (EH), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity were deemed eligible for inclusion in this review. Compared to baseline measurements, Lo-TENS demonstrated a tendency to positively affect blood pressure in individuals with EH and metabolic parameters in those with T2DM. Nonetheless, the efficacy of Lo-TENS in treating obesity is not yet clear when contrasted with a no-intervention control group. When compared with other intervention modalities, three of the trials reported less favorable results.ConclusionsAlthough Lo-TENS did not consistently surpass other treatments or yield substantial improvements, it generally provided greater benefits than the majority of placebo controls. This suggests that Lo-TENS could potentially serve as a beneficial adjunctive therapy in the management of obesity and its associated conditions. However, given the limited number of trials assessed, the elevated risk of bias within these studies, and the scarce evidence currently available, it is too early to reach definitive conclusions. Caution should be exercised when interpreting the current findings. There is an imperative for further high-quality research to thoroughly investigate and substantiate the efficacy of Lo-TENS in relation to obesity and its related disorders.

Dataset Information

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and heat to reduce pain in a chronic low back pain population: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and heat to reduce pain in a chronic low back pain population: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Similar Datasets

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