PMID- 22466027
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120920
LR  - 20211021
IS  - 1538-6724 (Electronic)
IS  - 0031-9023 (Print)
IS  - 0031-9023 (Linking)
VI  - 92
IP  - 7
DP  - 2012 Jul
TI  - Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on pain, pain sensitivity, 
      and function in people with knee osteoarthritis: a randomized controlled trial.
PG  - 898-910
LID - 10.2522/ptj.20110183 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is commonly used 
      for the management of pain; however, its effects on several pain and function 
      measures are unclear. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the 
      effects of high-frequency TENS (HF-TENS) and low-frequency TENS (LF-TENS) on 
      several outcome measures (pain at rest, movement-evoked pain, and pain 
      sensitivity) in people with knee osteoarthritis. DESIGN: The study was a 
      double-blind, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: The setting was a tertiary care 
      center. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy-five participants with knee osteoarthritis (29 men 
      and 46 women; 31-94 years of age) were assessed. INTERVENTION: Participants were 
      randomly assigned to receive HF-TENS (100 Hz) (n=25), LF-TENS (4 Hz) (n=25), or 
      placebo TENS (n=25) (pulse duration=100 microseconds; intensity=10% below motor 
      threshold). MEASUREMENTS: The following measures were assessed before and after a 
      single TENS treatment: cutaneous mechanical pain threshold, pressure pain 
      threshold (PPT), heat pain threshold, heat temporal summation, Timed "Up & Go" 
      Test (TUG), and pain intensity at rest and during the TUG. A linear mixed-model 
      analysis of variance was used to compare differences before and after TENS and 
      among groups (HF-TENS, LF-TENS, and placebo TENS). RESULTS: Compared with placebo 
      TENS, HF-TENS and LF-TENS increased PPT at the knee; HF-TENS also increased PPT 
      over the tibialis anterior muscle. There was no effect on the cutaneous 
      mechanical pain threshold, heat pain threshold, or heat temporal summation. Pain 
      at rest and during the TUG was significantly reduced by HF-TENS, LF-TENS, and 
      placebo TENS. LIMITATIONS: This study tested only a single TENS treatment. 
      CONCLUSIONS: Both HF-TENS and LF-TENS increased PPT in people with knee 
      osteoarthritis; placebo TENS had no significant effect on PPT. Cutaneous pain 
      measures were unaffected by TENS. Subjective pain ratings at rest and during 
      movement were similarly reduced by active TENS and placebo TENS, suggesting a 
      strong placebo component of the effect of TENS.
FAU - Vance, Carol Grace T
AU  - Vance CG
AD  - Graduate Program in Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, The University 
      of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, USA.
FAU - Rakel, Barbara A
AU  - Rakel BA
FAU - Blodgett, Nicole P
AU  - Blodgett NP
FAU - DeSantana, Josimari Melo
AU  - DeSantana JM
FAU - Amendola, Annunziato
AU  - Amendola A
FAU - Zimmerman, Miriam Bridget
AU  - Zimmerman MB
FAU - Walsh, Deirdre M
AU  - Walsh DM
FAU - Sluka, Kathleen A
AU  - Sluka KA
LA  - eng
SI  - ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01354054
GR  - R03 NR010405/NR/NINR NIH HHS/United States
GR  - R03-NR010405/NR/NINR NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Randomized Controlled Trial
PT  - Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20120330
PL  - United States
TA  - Phys Ther
JT  - Physical therapy
JID - 0022623
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Double-Blind Method
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Linear Models
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Osteoarthritis, Knee/*therapy
MH  - Pain Measurement
MH  - Pain Threshold
MH  - Statistics, Nonparametric
MH  - *Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation
MH  - Treatment Outcome
PMC - PMC3386514
EDAT- 2012/04/03 06:00
MHDA- 2012/09/21 06:00
PMCR- 2013/01/01
CRDT- 2012/04/03 06:00
PHST- 2012/04/03 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2012/04/03 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/09/21 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2013/01/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - ptj.20110183 [pii]
AID - 2011-0183 [pii]
AID - 10.2522/ptj.20110183 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Phys Ther. 2012 Jul;92(7):898-910. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20110183. Epub 2012 Mar 30.