Study Summary

Seventy-four patients suffering from mechanical chronic low back pain lasting >3 months were randomized to undergo 3 weeks of burst transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS; n=25), conventional TENS (n=25), or placebo (n=24). Outcomes of interest included pain on a visual analogue scale (VAS), neuropathic pain using the Douleur Neuropathique 4 Questions (DN4Q) scale, function via the Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (MOS), depression using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and sympathetic skin response (SSR). All outcomes were measured post-treatment and 3 months post-treatment. Results revealed that mean change from baseline in VAS scores was significantly in favour of the burst TENS group vs the conventional TENS and placebo groups at post-treatment (p=0.018; p=0.007, respectively). When comparing the change from baseline at 3 months post-treatment, all outcomes were not significantly different between the burst TENS, conventional TENS, and placebo groups (p>0.05 for all). No patient reported any side-effects related to TENS.