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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Chuzhen Therapy as a Non-Invasive Traditional Chinese Therapy for Neck Pain
04:24

Chuzhen Therapy as a Non-Invasive Traditional Chinese Therapy for Neck Pain

Published on: June 6, 2025

Electrotherapy for neck pain.

Peter Kroeling1, Anita Gross, Charles H Goldsmith

  • 1Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Director: Prof. Dr. Gerold Stucki), Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Marchionini-Str. 17, D-81377 München, Germany, D-80801.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|October 13, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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See all related articles

Electrotherapy for neck pain shows uncertain effectiveness. While some modalities like pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF), repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS), and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) may be better than placebo, evidence quality is low.

Area of Science:

  • Physiotherapy
  • Neurology
  • Pain Management

Background:

  • Neck pain is a prevalent and debilitating condition with significant healthcare costs.
  • The efficacy of electrotherapy as a treatment for neck pain requires further clarification.
  • This review is an update to a previous Cochrane review from 2005.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of electrotherapy in improving pain, disability, and patient satisfaction in adults with neck pain.
  • To assess the impact of electrotherapy on global perceived effect in neck pain patients.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating electrotherapy for neck pain.
  • Searches conducted across multiple databases (CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, MANTIS, CINAHL, ICL) up to December 2008.

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  • Studies were assessed for risk of bias, and evidence quality was evaluated using an adapted GRADE approach.

    • Main Results:

    • Eighteen small trials involving 1043 participants were included.
    • Very low-quality evidence suggests pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF), repetitive magnetic stimulation (rMS), and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) may be more effective than placebo.
    • Low to very low-quality evidence indicates that permanent magnets, modulated galvanic current, iontophoresis, and electric muscle stimulation (EMS) are not more effective than placebo.
    • Limited data on function and global perceived effect were not clinically significant.

    Conclusions:

    • Definitive conclusions on the efficacy and clinical utility of electrotherapy for neck pain cannot be made due to low or very low-quality evidence.
    • Further research is needed, as current estimates of effect are uncertain and likely to change with new studies.
    • While PEMF, rMS, and TENS show potential benefit over placebo, their efficacy compared to other interventions is unclear; funding bias in PEMF studies warrants consideration.