Single-Blinded, Randomized Preliminary Study Evaluating the Effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation on Postoperative Pain in Patients with Colles' Fracture

36 patients with a Colles' fracture who underwent surgical fixation were randomized to either a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) intervention or sham TENS, once per day for the first 5 postoperative days. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of TENS significantly reduced acute postoperative pain. Findings indicated no significant differences between groups when measured immediately before TENS/sham TENS sessions on each day though VAS scores were demonstrated to be significantly lower in the TENS group compared to the sham group at 5 minutes after administration each day. Patient-controlled analgesia, oral NSAID, and intravenous NSAID consumption were similar between groups.