NCT01017913

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation and Interferential Currents in Chronic Low Back Pain

Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Interferential Currents (IFC) in Patients With Non Specific Chronic Low Back Pain: Randomized Clinical Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 150 (actual)
• Sponsor: Federal University of São Paulo · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of the TENS and IFC in patients with non specific chronic low back pain.

Detailed description

Setting Outpatient physiotherapy department in university (Cesumar) Participants A hundred and fifty patients with non specific chronic low back pain with or without radicular pain. Interventions The patients were randomly divided into three groups: 1) TENS; 2) IFC; e 3) Control. Ten sessions of electrotherapy for groups 1 and 2, while the patients of the Control group stayed without any treatment in the same period Main Outcome Measures Intensity of the pain through the Visual Analogue Scale and McGill Pain Questionnaire; specific functional disability by Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire; Analgesic period (hours); and the medication consumption Statistic Analysis All data were analyzed using Statistica version 7 and SAS version 9.1. Baseline characteristics were compared using the Shapiro-Wilks test for continuous variables and then analysis of variance for measuring independent data. The characteristics of the patients who finished the treatment were compared with those of the lost patients, using one-way ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test.

Conditions

• Chronic Low Back Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	TENS	The TENS equipment was calibrated on 20 hertz frequency, and a pulse width of 330 ms (standing in control number seven) with two channels.
OTHER	Interferential currents	The IFC was adjusted to a base frequency of 4000 Hz, with a modulation frequency range of 20 Hz, ∆F of 10 Hz and slope of 1/1, in quadripolar mode.

Timeline

• Start date: 2006-03-01
• Primary completion: 2006-12-01
• Completion: 2007-12-01
• First posted: 2009-11-23
• Last updated: 2009-11-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Brazil