“Some medical device companies have begun offering over-the- counter versions of TENS devices which patients can use at home.” Some medical device companies have begun offering over-the-counter versions of TENS devices which patients can use at home. They range in price from $50 Scientists caution that not enough research has been conducted to prove the medical effectiveness of TENS. The fact that some patients find relief could be a case of placebo effect. A few studies have produced objective evidence that TENS may modulate or suppress pain signals in the brain. In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first TENS device a head-mounted TENS device called Cefaly, for the prevention of migraine headaches. The Cefaly device was found effective in preventing migraine attacks in a randomized sham-controlled trial. This was the first TENS device approved by the FDA for pain prevention, rather than pain suppression. to $500. Many can be purchased online. More research needed
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation may also represent an effective treatment for the prevention and management of migraine, according to a meta-analysis published in the Journal of Headache and Pain. Although promising, the findings presented by the researchers are based on low quality of evidence. A limitation of this analysis includes the low number of randomized trials, all of which had small patient cohorts, the authors noted. Another review of TENS results indicated that it may not provide relief from lower back pain, but may be associated with short-term improvement in functional disability. The review was
published in the journal Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. Investigators evaluated 12 randomized controlled trials examining patients with low back pain undergoing TENS, control therapy (eg, placebo, sham, or medication only), or other nerve stimulation therapies (eg, electroacupuncture, percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or percutaneous neuromodulation therapy). TENS was found to provide pain relief
comparable with that of a control therapy. At follow-up, (less than six weeks after treatment), other nerve stimulation therapies provided greater pain relief than TENS, but not at more than six weeks after treatment. TENS was also found to provide greater improvement in functional disability than control therapy less than six weeks later six weeks, but not at follow-up more than six weeks later. There was noticeable variation in intervention duration across studies, which could have affected the review’s findings, the authors said. ”Examination of more subjective parameters such as satisfaction with TENS treatment and outcome and overall perception of the treatment would add value to determination of the value of TENS treatment in [chronic back pain],” the study authors concluded.
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