Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Reduces Post-Thoractomy Ipsilateral Shoulder Pain. A Prospective...

Area of Science:

• Thoracic Surgery
• Pain Management
• Neurosurgery

Background:

• Axillary thoracotomy for lung resection can lead to postoperative shoulder pain and limited mobility.
• Standardized pain management protocols are crucial for improving patient recovery and outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in reducing postoperative pain and improving shoulder mobility following axillary thoracotomy.
• To assess the impact of a standardized TENS analgesia program on ipsilateral shoulder function.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, single-blind, single-center clinical trial involving 50 patients undergoing anatomical lung resection via axillary muscle-sparing thoracotomy.
• Patients received TENS for 30 minutes every 8 hours, starting on postoperative day 1.
• Pain was assessed using a visual analogue scale, and shoulder mobility was measured with a goniometer over three postoperative days.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in shoulder mobility was observed between the TENS group and the control group.
• Patients receiving TENS experienced a significant decrease in shoulder flexion pain on postoperative days 2 and 3 (P=.03 and P=.04, respectively).

Conclusions:

• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is effective in decreasing shoulder flexion pain in patients undergoing axillary thoracotomy for pulmonary resection.
• TENS may be a valuable adjunct in the multimodal analgesia strategy for thoracic surgery patients.