Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2011 Jun;27(5):434-41.
doi: 10.1097/AJP.0b013e318208c926.

Differential frequency effects of strong nonpainful transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on experimentally induced ischemic pain in healthy human participants

Chih-Chung Chen  1 , Mark I Johnson
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Differential frequency effects of strong nonpainful transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on experimentally induced ischemic pain in healthy human participants

Chih-Chung Chen et al. Clin J Pain. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: Electrophysiological studies show frequency-dependent effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in animal models of hyperalgesia. Evidence of frequency-dependent effects of TENS in humans is conflicting.

Objective: To assess the effects of low-frequency and high-frequency TENS at a strong nonpainful intensity on experimentally induced ischemic pain.

Methods: Submaximal effort tourniquet tests were carried out on 48 healthy human participants before (baseline) and during TENS at 3 pulsed currents per second (pps), 80 pps, and no current (placebo). TENS was switched on for 20 minutes and a submaximal effort tourniquet test was carried out during the final 5 minutes of the intervention. There was a 30-minute washout, with TENS switched off, between the interventions.

Results: Repeated measure analysis of variance detected significant effects for pain intensity [100 mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS)] for condition (P<0.001), time (P<0.001), and time×condition (P=0.039). When compared with pre-TENS lower VAS scores were detected for placebo TENS (P=0.026) and 80 pps (P<0.001), but not for 3 pps (P=0.19). There were lower VAS scores for 80 pps than placebo (mean difference, 13.29 mm; 95% CI, 9.71, 16.87; P<0.001) and 3 pps (mean difference, 19.88 mm; 95% CI, 17.20-22.55; P<0.001), yet 3 pps scores were higher than placebo (mean difference, 6.58 mm; 95% CI 3.45, 9.72; P<0.001). There were significantly lower scores for sensory dimensions of the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire for both 3 pps and 80 pps when compared with the placebo (P<0.001; P=0.005, respectively), but no significant differences between TENS at 80 and 3 pps (P=1.0). There were no significant effects detected for condition (P=0.217) or for condition×sequence interaction (P=0.800) for affective dimensions.

Conclusions: Strong nonpainful TENS delivered at 80 pps reduced experimentally induced ischemic pain when compared with TENS delivered at 3 pps.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types