Pain relief by transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation with bidirectional modulated sine waves in patients with chronic back pain: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether bidirectional modulated sine waves (BMW) in transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) provide pain relief for chronic low back pain compared to conventional pulsed waves and sham treatment.
Results Summary
TENS with BMWs showed significant immediate pain reduction compared to sham treatment, but repeated weekly treatments over 5 weeks did not yield statistically significant long-term effects compared to sham TENS plus massage.
Population
28 patients with chronic back pain (initial comparison), 21 patients (repeated treatment investigation).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
5 weeks (repeated treatment group)
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
bidirectional modulated sine waves (BMW) via transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) | decrease | pain intensity (NRS) | patients with chronic back pain | - | significant immediate reduction | #1 |
bidirectional modulated sine waves (BMW) via transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) | decrease | pain intensity (NRS) | patients with chronic back pain | 60 min after treatment | reduction | #2 |
weekly repeated treatments using massage and TENS with BMWs | decrease | pain intensity (NRS) | patients with chronic back pain | for 5 weeks | resulted in a decrease | #3 |
TENS with BMWs plus massage | no change | pain intensity (NRS) | patients with chronic back pain | - | no significant differences | #4 |
TENS with BMWs | decrease | chronic back pain | - | - | significantly inhibits | #5 |
TENS with BMWs | no change | chronic back pain | - | - | no statistically significant long-term effects | #6 |
Objectives. Newly developed bidirectional modulated sine waves (BMW) might provide some derived benefit to patients with low back pain. Pain relief by transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) with BMWs was tested. Materials and Methods. Analgesic effects of BMWs and conventional bidirectional pulsed waves on chronic back pain in 28 patients were compared, and effects of repeated TENS using BMWs on chronic back pain were investigated in 21 patients by means of a randomized double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel-group method. Pain intensity was assessed using numerical rating scale (NRS). Results. There was significant immediate reduction in NRS in patients receiving BMWs, and 60 min after treatment compared to sham TENS. Weekly repeated treatments using massage and TENS with BMWs for 5 weeks resulted in a decrease of NRS, but there were no significant differences between the TENS plus massage and sham TENS plus massage groups. Conclusions. This study shows that TENS with BMWs significantly inhibits chronic back pain, and treatment effects are attained within a day. The results also suggest that there were no statistically significant long-term effects of TENS with BMW in the repeated treatment.