Immediate effects of percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in patients with lateral elbow pain

Ultrasound guided-percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation appears to be effective in the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain.

To investigate the immediate effects of one session of percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on the radial nerve in patients with lateral elbow pain.

A randomized clinical trial was conducted. Sixty patients with chronic lateral elbow pain were allocated into real-percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (n = 30) or sham-percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (n = 30) where the patients received one-single session of the real or sham percutaneous stimulation on the radial nerve, respectively. Pressure pain thresholds, pain intensity, pain-free grip strength, and the self-perceived improvement were evaluated after the intervention.

Significant differences between groups for pain intensity (-11.55, 95% CI -21.79 to -1.30, p < .028), but not for pressure pain threshold or pain-free grip strength, were found. Patients receiving real-percutaneous stimulation had significant improvement in pain-free grip strength on the treated side. The proportion of individuals reporting moderate to large self-perceived improvement (≥4) was significantly higher (p = .026) after real-percutaneous stimulation than after sham-percutaneous stimulation.

A single session of real-percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation targeting the radial nerve in subjects with lateral elbow pain decreased pain intensity between groups and increased pain-free grip strength on the treated side but not between groups.