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Background:
Chronic pain conditions are a common problem despite conventional analgesia. According to the gate control theory of pain, percutaneous electrical neuro-stimulation (PENS) may be expected to reduce these hyperalgesiae. PENS is a relatively new electrical therapy for pain relief and its assessments have beenlimited. It is similar in practical concept to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) but differs in that needle-like probes are inserted percutaneously into an area of tissue, and then stimulated. Furthermore, it is able to stimulate at high (100Hz) and low (2Hz) frequencies in a rapidly alternating fashion.
Aim:
To investigate the effect of PENS on pain intensity recorded by the numerical rating scale (NRS) in patients with chronic pain.
Conclusion:
In this study, we have found that percutaneous electrical neuro-stimulation produces a clinically and statistically significant reduction in pain intensity in the short term in patients with chronic pain. A randomised controlled trial is warranted. |
PENS therapy Poster
