Guideline: Widely Used Device For Pain Therapy Not Recommended For Chronic Low Back Pain

[Justin]

A new guideline issued by the American Academy of Neurology finds that transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS), a widely used pain therapy involving a portable device, is not recommended to treat chronic low-back pain pain that has persisted for three months or longer because research shows it is not effective.....

Guideline: Widely Used Device For Pain Therapy Not Recommended For Chronic Low Back Pain (click here for the full article at Medical News Today)

[Justin]

TENS may be ineffective for low-back pain.

The Los Angeles Times (12/30, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog reported that, according to guidelines published online Dec. 30 in the journal Neurology, "a popular pain therapy using a portable device called TENS -- transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation -- should not be used to treat chronic low-back pain." After reviewing studies and medical literature, researchers from the Kansas University Medical Center said that "the therapy is ineffective for low-back pain."

HealthDay (12/30, Edelson) reported, "An exception was diabetic nerve pain, also known as diabetic neuropathy, which can cause symmetrical numbness, decreased sensation, and a feeling of burning, usually involving the legs, but sometimes affecting the hands." Study lead author Richard M. Dubinsky, MD, MPH, FAAN, "chair of practice improvement for the" American Academy of Neurology (AAN), said "there is good evidence that TENS is effective in this condition, which develops in about 60 percent of people with diabetes."

WebMD (12/30, Boyles) explained that TENS, which "is a pocket-sized, battery-operated device that sends electric currents to the nerves via electrodes with the goal of treating pain," has been "used for pain relief for four decades." But, after reviewing five "TENS studies involving patients with chronic low back pain lasting three months or longer," AAN investigators found that while some "studies did show a benefit for TENS, the two most rigorously designed and executed trials reviewed by the researchers did not."