Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized Trial

Background. The effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on pain and impression of change was assessed during a 2.5-hour intervention on the first postoperative days following hip surgery in a randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial involving 30 patients. Methods. Mi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yohann Opolka, Courage Sundberg, Robin Juthberg, Amelie Olesen, Li Guo, Nils-Krister Persson, Paul W. Ackermann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-01-01
Series:Pain Research and Management
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/6866549
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832559273771532288
author Yohann Opolka
Courage Sundberg
Robin Juthberg
Amelie Olesen
Li Guo
Nils-Krister Persson
Paul W. Ackermann
author_facet Yohann Opolka
Courage Sundberg
Robin Juthberg
Amelie Olesen
Li Guo
Nils-Krister Persson
Paul W. Ackermann
author_sort Yohann Opolka
collection DOAJ
description Background. The effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on pain and impression of change was assessed during a 2.5-hour intervention on the first postoperative days following hip surgery in a randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial involving 30 patients. Methods. Mixed-frequency TENS (2 Hz/80 Hz) was administered using specially designed pants integrating modular textile electrodes to facilitate stimulation both at rest and during activity. The treatment outcome was assessed by self-reported pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scores at four time points. The ability to perform a 3-meter walk test and the use of analgesics were also evaluated. Group comparison and repeated-measure analysis were carried out using nonparametric statistics. Results. The active TENS group exhibited significantly higher PGIC scores after 30 minutes, which persisted throughout the intervention (all p≤0.001). A reduction in NRS appeared after one hour of active TENS, persisting throughout the intervention (all p≤0.05). The median group differences in pain ratings were greater than the minimum clinically important difference, and the analysis of pain trajectories confirmed clinical significance at the individual level. Moreover, patients in the active TENS group were more likely able to perform a 3-meter walk test by the end of the intervention (p=0.04). Analysis of the opioid-sparing effect of TENS was inconclusive (p=0.066). No postoperative surgical complications or TENS-related side effects were observed during the study. Conclusion. Mixed-frequency TENS integrated in pants could potentially be an interesting addition to the arsenal of treatments for multimodal analgesia following hip surgery. This trial is registered with NCT05678101.
format Article
id doaj-art-4ddf3172e280475f928d77906b61bef7
institution Kabale University
issn 1918-1523
language English
publishDate 2024-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Pain Research and Management
spelling doaj-art-4ddf3172e280475f928d77906b61bef72025-02-03T01:30:22ZengWileyPain Research and Management1918-15232024-01-01202410.1155/2024/6866549Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized TrialYohann Opolka0Courage Sundberg1Robin Juthberg2Amelie Olesen3Li Guo4Nils-Krister Persson5Paul W. Ackermann6Polymeric E-Textile Research GroupKarolinska University HospitalKarolinska University HospitalPolymeric E-Textile Research GroupPolymeric E-Textile Research GroupPolymeric E-Textile Research GroupKarolinska University HospitalBackground. The effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on pain and impression of change was assessed during a 2.5-hour intervention on the first postoperative days following hip surgery in a randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled trial involving 30 patients. Methods. Mixed-frequency TENS (2 Hz/80 Hz) was administered using specially designed pants integrating modular textile electrodes to facilitate stimulation both at rest and during activity. The treatment outcome was assessed by self-reported pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) scores at four time points. The ability to perform a 3-meter walk test and the use of analgesics were also evaluated. Group comparison and repeated-measure analysis were carried out using nonparametric statistics. Results. The active TENS group exhibited significantly higher PGIC scores after 30 minutes, which persisted throughout the intervention (all p≤0.001). A reduction in NRS appeared after one hour of active TENS, persisting throughout the intervention (all p≤0.05). The median group differences in pain ratings were greater than the minimum clinically important difference, and the analysis of pain trajectories confirmed clinical significance at the individual level. Moreover, patients in the active TENS group were more likely able to perform a 3-meter walk test by the end of the intervention (p=0.04). Analysis of the opioid-sparing effect of TENS was inconclusive (p=0.066). No postoperative surgical complications or TENS-related side effects were observed during the study. Conclusion. Mixed-frequency TENS integrated in pants could potentially be an interesting addition to the arsenal of treatments for multimodal analgesia following hip surgery. This trial is registered with NCT05678101.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/6866549
spellingShingle Yohann Opolka
Courage Sundberg
Robin Juthberg
Amelie Olesen
Li Guo
Nils-Krister Persson
Paul W. Ackermann
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized Trial
Pain Research and Management
title Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized Trial
title_full Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized Trial
title_fullStr Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized Trial
title_full_unstemmed Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized Trial
title_short Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Integrated into Pants for the Relief of Postoperative Pain in Hip Surgery Patients: A Randomized Trial
title_sort transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation integrated into pants for the relief of postoperative pain in hip surgery patients a randomized trial
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2024/6866549
work_keys_str_mv AT yohannopolka transcutaneouselectricalnervestimulationintegratedintopantsforthereliefofpostoperativepaininhipsurgerypatientsarandomizedtrial
AT couragesundberg transcutaneouselectricalnervestimulationintegratedintopantsforthereliefofpostoperativepaininhipsurgerypatientsarandomizedtrial
AT robinjuthberg transcutaneouselectricalnervestimulationintegratedintopantsforthereliefofpostoperativepaininhipsurgerypatientsarandomizedtrial
AT amelieolesen transcutaneouselectricalnervestimulationintegratedintopantsforthereliefofpostoperativepaininhipsurgerypatientsarandomizedtrial
AT liguo transcutaneouselectricalnervestimulationintegratedintopantsforthereliefofpostoperativepaininhipsurgerypatientsarandomizedtrial
AT nilskristerpersson transcutaneouselectricalnervestimulationintegratedintopantsforthereliefofpostoperativepaininhipsurgerypatientsarandomizedtrial
AT paulwackermann transcutaneouselectricalnervestimulationintegratedintopantsforthereliefofpostoperativepaininhipsurgerypatientsarandomizedtrial