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Published on: November 17, 2023
[Efficiency of TENS treatment in hemiplegic shoulder pain: a placebo controlled study]
Ayşe Ekim1, Onur Armağan, Cengiz Oner
1Eskişehir Osmangazi University Medical Faculty, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Eskişehir, Turkey. drayseekim@yahoo.com.tr
Objective:
To evaluate the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy on shoulder pain and upper extremity functions in hemiplegic patients.
Material-Methods:
Total of 19 hemiplegic patients with shoulder pain were as consecutive randomly assigned into two groups. TENS was applied in group 1 (n = 10) for 20 minutes and group 2 (n = 9) received placebo stimulation. Conventional rehabilitation program were applied total 15 sessions during a period of 3 week in both groups.The visual analog scale (VAS) to evaluate shoulder pain, Barthel Index (BI) for daily-life activities (DLA) were used. The shoulder passive range of motions (PROMs) and Brunnstrom stage of motor recovery were measured.
Results:
Clinical parameters were similar at baseline. In both groups, significant improvements were observed in VAS and BI (group 1: p<0.001; group 2: p<0.05). In VAS (p<0.001), and BI (p<0.05) were showed significant improvements in favor of group 1, when compared with the groups. In PROMs of abduction and external rotation of shoulder significant improvements were observed in only group 1 (p<0.001, p<0.001 respectively). There was not any significant improvement on Brunnstrom stage of motor recovery in both groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion:
In conclusion that TENS therapy together with conventional rehabilitation could be used as a good alternative therapy in patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain.
