[Evaluation of the direct analgesic effect of ministimulators]

Percutaneous electrostimulation is a new method of analgesia and it is hoped that good effects can be obtained in painful syndromes resistant to other therapeutic methods. Its basic advantage is the possibility of controlling the parameters during the stimulation by the patient who is wearing a miniaturized apparatus generating impulses of desired parameters. The authors tried out the effectiveness of ministimulators of Polish design for the treatment of neuralgic pains in inpatients and outpatients. The electrodes were placed at the sites of greatest pain and along peripheral nerves. The immediate analgesic effect of the stimulation, its degree and duration were evaluated. In 67% of patients an immediate improvement was obtained, and in 16% of them the pain disappeared completely. The authors stress that the effectiveness of this method equals that of various types of acupuncture and discuss a possible common mechanism of action of both methods.