Application of 24-hour burst TENS in a back school

The Back School program consists of exercises and education designed to reduce back pain. Sixty-six percent of the patients had too much back pain to participate. The purpose of this clinical report is to describe how 24-hour burst transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) treatment enabled these patients with severe back pain to participate in the Back School. Patients recovering from a laminectomy, chemonucleolysis, or scoliosis surgery were used to determine that 24-hour burst TENS was the most effective TENS protocol for reducing pain. Twenty-four-hour burst TENS was then prescribed for 129 patients with severe back pain to enable them to complete the Back School program. Eighty percent of these patients returned to their usual activities within 12 months. The Back School program has been shown to be an effective and safe treatment for back pain, and 24-hour burst TENS treatment allows patients with severe back pain to participate in it.