Comparison of the pain-relieving effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation applied at the same dermatome levels as the site of pain in the wrist joint.
Hirobumi Kawamura, Tomohiko Nishigami, Ayako Yamamoto and 4 others
PMID 29200643WHAT IT FOUND
In 15 healthy women with brief induced wrist pain, TENS to the opposite wrist, neck, or both lowered pain from 41.1 to 27.2, 27.4, or 27.5 on a 0 to 100 scale.
No site was better than another, and brain activity did not change.
Key findings
01Mean VAS pain was 27.2 ± 16.1 for the opposite wrist, 27.4 ± 19.2 for the neck, and 27.5 ± 17.7 for both, compared with 41.1 ± 20.8 for control.
02There was no significant difference between the three TENS placements.
03Cerebral blood flow measured across 44 channels did not differ between control and the TENS conditions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included 15 healthy adult females, not patients with clinical wrist pain. Pain was brief heat-induced pain in a single 60-second session, so it may not reflect everyday pain or treatment over multiple sessions. The paper does not state whether participants or assessors were blinded. The three active TENS placements did not differ, so the study cannot show which placement is best. Brain measures showed no difference, so the mechanism was not explained.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that TENS is effective for clinical wrist pain or that treating two sites is better than one. The study tested 15 healthy women during brief induced heat pain, and the three TENS placements did not differ from each other.