Edema and pain reduction using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation treatment.
Yeong-Deok Choi, Jung-Ho Lee
PMID 27942125WHAT IT FOUND
In 11 patients with lower extremity lymphedema, four weeks of TENS produced a larger reduction in pain than prescribed drugs.
Calf circumference also decreased more. The small sample limits confidence.
Key findings
01Pain decreased from 62.74 mm to 27.62 mm in the TENS group and from 69.11 mm to 47.39 mm in the control group, with a significant intergroup difference.
02Calf circumference decreased from 45.8 cm to 37.9 cm in the TENS group and from 42.6 cm to 39.75 cm in the control group, with a significant intergroup difference.
03Eleven patients with lower extremity lymphedema were randomly assigned to a TENS group of six patients or a drug control group of five patients, and each group was treated three times per week for four weeks.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The number of study subjects was small, so the results cannot be generalized. The onset of disease in the patients was not uniform. Intervention effects were not continuously observed over time. Only edema and pain were evaluated, and no dynamic evaluation of cell levels or gait was conducted.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that TENS is proven to reduce lower extremity lymphedema or pain in routine practice. The trial included only 11 patients, used a four-week intervention, and did not follow effects over time, so the findings are preliminary.