What is the evidence for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for adults with fibromyalgia?
AMSTAR Rating
Summary
Patient Population:
8 clinical studies (7 RCTs and 1 quasi-RCT) of 315 participants (299 women) with fibromyalgia, aged 18-75 years.
Intervention:
TENs was defined as non-invasive electrical nerve stimulation techniques, at intensities that produced perceptible sensations during stimulation, at either the site of pain or over nerve bundles proximal to the site of pain.Treatment duration ranged from one thirty-minute session to 42 days of treatment.
Comparison:
TENS was compared to either placebo TENS (2 studies), no treatment (1 study), usual care (1 study) or other treatments (4 studies). Major outcomes of pain relief (greater than 30% and 50%) and patient global impression of change scale were measured.
Outcome:
- No studies that investigated TENS compared to placebo TENS reported pain relief of greater than 30% or 50% on a patient global impression of change scale.
- There were no serious side effects reported with TENS use in any of the studies.
- Seven of the eight studies reported that TENS relieved pain associated with fibromyalgia, but these studies were of low quality and findings were inconsistently reported.
Guideline Recommendations
| Source | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| CRA | Insufficient evidence |
Outcomes Assessed
- Benefit
- Harm
- Inconclusive
Main Outcome
Pain Relief
Relevant Clinical Info
Very low quality of evidence RCTs/quasi-RCTs due to very small sample sizes, with varying study and treatment methodologies.
Participant Information
of participants
Female
the sample size was 315
Mean age of 18-75 years.
their were 8 studies used.
