Electrical Stimulation (TENS) Pain Relief for Dysmenorrhea

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a non-drug noninvasive pain relief method. The sensory nerve is stimulated by a gentle and small amount of electric current (usually no more than 25 microcoulombs per unit time) to block the transmission of painful nerve signals and achieve analgesic effect.

Clinical studies have proved that the dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument made by the principle of TENS is effective in the treatment of dysmenorrhea and is an alternative to medicine for pain relief. Because it is non-invasive and has no side effects, it has been promoted and applied in Europe and America.

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Introduction to TENSedit

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is a non-drug noninvasive pain relief method. TENS stimulates the sensory nerve with a gentle and trace current (usually no more than 25 microcoulombs per unit time) to block the transmission of painful nerve signals and achieve the effect of pain relief.

Indicationsedit

The analgesic device made on the principle of TENS is a second-class medical device used to relieve pain symptoms and treat chronic stubborn pain, acute post-traumatic pain and postoperative pain, as well as pain related to arthritis (see US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Guidelines: Specific indications for use for the TENS device that we consider to be for pain relief include symptomatic relief of chronic intractable pain, relief of acute post-surgical and post-traumatic pain, and relief of pain associated with arthritis. ).

Description of dysmenorrheaedit

Dysmenorrhea is an experience of lower abdomen pain during menstrual cramps. Primary dysmenorrhea is defined as pain that occurs during menstrual cramps without obvious cause, while secondary dysmenorrhea is defined as pain caused by an underlying pathological cause (Beard and Pearce in 1989). Menstrual pain is basically believed to be related to the presence of prostaglandins in menstrual fluid. Prostaglandins cause excessive contraction of the muscle layer of the inner wall of the uterus, leading to uterine anemia. Successful treatment of dysmenorrhea involves the use of prostaglandin synthase inhibitors. However, some women cannot use these drugs due to side effects. Therefore, non-drug alternatives are of great value in the treatment of dysmenorrhea.

Clinical research overviewedit

Clinical studies (reference to the following content) have proved that the dysmenorrhea analgesic device made by the principle of TENS is effective in the treatment of dysmenorrhea, so it has been promoted and applied in Europe and America.

The clinical research on the analgesic effect of TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument for dysmenorrhea is mainly compared with placebo machines or analgesics. The overall result is satisfactory in terms of the degree of pain relief obtained. Kaplan et al. conducted a study in 1994 and first obtained a benchmark score for pain level measurement in a group of 61 women during 2 menstrual cycles. Then use the TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic device irregularly during the next two menstrual cycles, and stick the triangular electrodes on the skin parts corresponding to the spine T10, 11, and 12 (the end of the uterine sensory nerve line). After these two menstrual cycles, the pain was scored and analyzed again. It was found that 59% of the patients had moderate analgesia, 31.2% of the patients had complete analgesia, and 10% of the patients had no effect. A report by Neighbors et al. in 1987 also mentioned that the use of acupuncture-like TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument compared with sugar pill placebo in 20 sampled patients achieved significant analgesic effects (p<0.05). The dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument is applied to 4 acupuncture points B21, B29, ST36, and SP6 on both sides.

The other group used a placebo machine to compare conventional and acupuncture dysmenorrhea analgesics (the author calls this the control group although the placebo TENS machine was used). In a study conducted by Mannheimer and Whalen in 1985, a conventional TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument and a placebo TENS machine were used, and two-channel intersecting electrodes were placed on the navel horizontal line and the anterior superior iliac spine. Acupuncture points on both sides of SP6 and SP10. In this study, the treatment time for all patients was 30 minutes, and the patients were told that if the pain reappears during the menstrual cycle, they need to resume treatment (which can be used at home). The results show that regardless of the average percentage of analgesia (p<0.05) and the duration of analgesia (it is worth noting that the significance of the latter changed from p<0.05 to p<0.1), the conventional TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument is significantly better than Placebo TENS machine.

The three studies mentioned above all confirmed the positive effects of TENS analgesia, but what about the comparison between the TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument and the interventional treatment of dysmenorrhea with analgesic drugs? The following two studies will answer this particular question. Dawood and Ramos in 1990 randomly compared TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument, placebo TENS machine, and ibuprofen (ibuprofen) in four ways in 32 women with primary dysmenorrhea. The crossover design involves all women randomly receiving one of three treatment modalities during four consecutive menstrual cramps: TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic device twice, ibuprofen once, and placebo TENS machine once. The placement of the TENS electrode imitated the experiment conducted by Kaplan et al. in 1994, that is, placed in the skin position corresponding to T10-12. The treatment time in this study is relatively long. The TENS machine was used for 8 hours at the beginning, and then used again as needed. During the use of the TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument and the TENS comfort machine, it was observed whether additional “emergency medications (such as ibuprofen)” and their dosage were needed. The results showed that compared with the other two groups, the use of TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument greatly reduced the number of patients who needed "emergency medicine" intervention (p<0.01); in addition, the use of TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument also delayed the additional demand for ibuprofen ( p<0.05).

The last study by Milsom et al. in 1994 directly compared a single dose of naproxen (naproxen) and TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic device during two menstrual cramps. This is another crossover study of 12 patients receiving one treatment during one menstrual period. During the study, the pain score and the pressure in the uterus were observed. The TENS dysmenorrhea analgesic instrument acts on the lower abdomen and back and repeats it until the pain relief appears. Both treatments can significantly reduce pain, but it is interesting that naproxen also significantly inhibits all parameters of uterine activity (p<0.01), such as diastolic pressure, systolic pressure, etc., while TENS does not. Because these results indicate that TENS analgesia has nothing to do with internal pressure in the uterus, there is still a question about how TENS reduces menstrual pain. The authors discussed some theories and concluded that the analgesic effect of TENS may give way to the reduction of local blood flow and oxygen consumption, which causes ischemia in the myometrium.

treatment method

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The dysmenorrhea analgesic device with precise power output is made by the principle of TENS, which is connected to the conductive adhesive through a wire, and the adhesive is attached to a specific position of the lower abdomen. When the analgesic device works, it has an analgesic effect.

Precautions

Conductive adhesive with biocompatible materials must be used;

Conductive adhesive cannot be applied to the wound;