TENS Gets Thumbs Down as Back Pain Treatment

Dec. 30, 2009 -- A widely used, somewhat controversial treatment for chronic
low back
pain is not effective and cannot be recommended, the American Academy of
Neurology (AAN) now says.
Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation, or TENS, is a pocket-sized,
battery-operated device that sends electric currents to the nerves via
electrodes with the goal of treating pain.
TENS has been used for pain relief for four decades, but
studies evaluating its effectiveness have been mixed.
A review of the available research assessing the use of TENS for pain led to
the newly published recommendation against its use for chronic low back pain,
says neurologist and guideline co-author Richard M. Dubinsky, MD, MPH, of
Kansas University Medical Center.
"From the systematic review of the literature, based on the strength of the
studies, we can say that TENS does not work for low back pain," he tells
WebMD.



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