Widely Used Device for Pain Therapy Not Recommended for Chronic Low Back Pain
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.
The guideline is published in the December 30, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The guideline determined that TENS can be effective in treating diabetic nerve pain, also called diabetic neuropathy, but more and better research is needed to compare TENS to other treatments for this type of pain.
Research on TENS for chronic low-back pain has produced conflicting results.
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