Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation as adjunct to primary care management for tennis elbow:

Can transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), as a patient controlled adjunct to primary care management for tennis elbow, provide superior pain relief to primary care management alone

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for the management of tennis elbow: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial: the TATE trial (ISRCTN 87141084)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tennis elbow is a common and often extremely painful musculoskeletal condition, which has considerable impact on individuals as well as economic implications for healthcare utilization and absence from work. Many management strategies have been studied in clinical trials. Whilst corticosteroid injections offer short term pain relief, this treatment is unpleasant and is used with caution due to an associated high risk of pain recurrence in the long term. Systematic reviews conclude that there is no clear and effective treatment for symptoms of pain in the first 6 weeks of the condition. There is a clear need for an intervention that is acceptable to patients and provides them with effective short-term pain relief without increasing the risk of recurrence. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is an inexpensive, non-invasive, non-pharmacological form of analgesia that is commonly used in the treatment of pain. TENS has very few contraindications and is simple to apply. It also benefits from being patient controlled, thereby promoting self-management. This study aims to assess the effectiveness, in terms of pain relief, and cost-effectiveness of a self-management package of treatment that includes TENS.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>The design of the study will be a two-group pragmatic randomized clinical trial. 240 participants aged 18 years and over with tennis elbow will be recruited from 20-30 GP practices in Staffordshire, UK. Participants are to be randomized on a 1:1 basis to receive either primary care management (standard GP consultation, medication, advice and education) or primary care management with the addition of TENS, over 6 weeks. Our primary outcome measure is average intensity of elbow pain in the past 24 hours (0-10 point numerical rating scale) at 6 weeks. Secondary outcomes include pain and limitation of function, global assessment of change, days of sick leave, illness perceptions, and overall health status. A cost-effectiveness analysis will also be performed. Patient adherence and satisfaction data will be collected at 6 weeks, 6 months and 12 months by postal questionnaire. A diary will also be completed for the first 2 weeks of treatment. Clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analyses will be carried out using an intention-to-treat approach as the primary analysis.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This paper presents detail on the rationale, design, methods and operational aspects of the trial.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials. ISRCTN87141084</p

Alternating-frequency TENS effects on experimental pain in healthy human participants: a randomised placebo-controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a modality commonly used in pain management. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the hypoalgesic effects of alternating-frequency TENS (4 Hz for 3 s/110 Hz for 3 s) on pressure pain threshold (PPT). METHODS: Two-hundred and eight healthy, pain-free volunteers (19 to 59 y old; 104 males, 104 females) were randomized to 8 groups: 6 active TENS groups, placebo, and control (n=26 per group). Parameter combinations were such that alternating-frequency TENS was combined with different levels of intensity "low" (strong but comfortable) or "high" (strong and uncomfortable but not painful). TENS was administered either at the forearm (segmental stimulation), at the ipsilateral leg (extrasegmental stimulation), or at both sites (dual-site stimulation) for 30 minutes and monitored for 30 further minutes. PPT measurements were taken bilaterally from the mid-point of first dorsal interosseous muscle, by an independent blinded rater, at baseline and at 6 subsequent 10-minute intervals. Square-root transformed data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of covariance (baseline values and sex as covariates). RESULTS: Alternating-frequency TENS groups did not achieve significant hypoalgesic effects compared with placebo or control (P>0.05). The largest increase in PPT (from baseline) was 76.6 kPa with low-intensity segmental alternating frequency TENS at the 20-minute stimulation time point. This change from baseline is below a difference of 100 kPa that is considered to be a clinically meaningful change in hypoalgesia. DISCUSSION: The alternating-frequency setting does not result in large hypoalgesic effects such as those previously reported using fixed-frequency TENS

Comparative effectiveness of treatment options for plantar heel pain:A systematic review with network meta-analysis

Objective To evaluate the comparative effectiveness of current treatment options for plantar heel pain (PHP). Design Systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA). Data Sources Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL, AMED, PEDro, Cochrane Database, Web of Science, and WHO Clinical Trials Platform were searched from their inception until January 2018. Study selection: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of adults with PHP investigating common treatments (i.e. corticosteroid injection, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), therapeutic exercise, orthoses and/or extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT)) compared with each other or a no treatment, placebo/sham control. Data extraction and analysis Data were extracted and checked for accuracy and completeness by pairs of reviewers. Primary outcomes were pain and function. Comparative treatment effects were analysed by random effects network meta-analysis in the short, medium, and long term. Relative ranking of treatments was assessed by surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA) probabilities (0-100 scale). Results Thirty-one RCTs (total n= 2450 patients) were included. There was no evidence of inconsistency detected between direct and indirect treatment comparisons in the networks, but sparse data led to frequently wide confidence intervals. Available evidence does not suggest that any of the commonly used treatments for the management of PHP are better than any other, although corticosteroid injections, alone or in combination with exercise, and ESWT were ranked most likely to be effective for the management of short, medium and long term pain or function; Placebo/sham/control appeared least likely to be effective; and exercise appeared to only be beneficial for long term pain or function. Conclusions Current evidence is equivocal regarding which treatment is the most effective for the management of PHP. Given limited understanding of long-term effects, there is need for large, methodologically robust multicentre RCTs investigating and directly comparing commonly used treatments for the management of PHP

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation as adjunct to primary care management for tennis elbow: pragmatic randomised controlled trial (TATE trial)

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of supplementing information and advice on analgesia and exercise from a general practitioner with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as a non-drug form of analgesia to reduce pain intensity in patients with tennis elbow. Design Pragmatic randomised controlled trial in primary care. Setting and 38 general practices in the West Midlands, UK. Participants 241 adults consulting with a first or new (no consultation in previous six months) clinical diagnosis of tennis elbow. Interventions Participants were randomly allocated to either primary care management alone, consisting of a consultation with a general practitioner followed by information and advice on exercises, or primary care management plus TENS to be used once a day for 45 minutes over six weeks (or until symptom resolution) for pain relief. Outcome measures The primary outcome was self reported intensity of elbow pain (0-10 rating scale) at six weeks. Primary and secondary outcomes were measured at baseline and at six weeks, six months, and 12 months by postal questionnaire. Analysis was by intention to treat. Results 121 participants were randomised to primary care management plus TENS and 120 to primary care management only (first episode, n=197 (82%); duration <1-3 months, n=138 (57%)). Adherence to exercise and TENS recommendations reported at six weeks was low; only 42 participants in the primary care management plus TENS group met a priori defined adherence criteria. Both intervention groups showed large improvements in pain and secondary outcomes, especially during the first six weeks of follow-up. However, no clinically or statistically significant differences were seen between groups at any follow-up timepoint. At the primary endpoint (six weeks), the between group difference in improvement of pain was −0.33 (95% confidence interval −0.96 to 0.31; P=0.31) in favour of the primary care management only group, with adjustment for age, sex, and baseline pain score. Conclusions This trial does not provide evidence for additional benefit of TENS as an adjunct to primary care management of tennis elbow. Poor adherence to interventions is evidence of the challenges of implementing self management treatment strategies in primary care. Trial registration Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN87141084

Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves showing the probability that PCM plus TENS is cost effective across different willingness-to-pay threshold values.

<p>Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves showing the probability that PCM plus TENS is cost effective across different willingness-to-pay threshold values.</p