• Hai-Yan Bai, Hong-Yan Bai, and Zhi-Qin Yang.
• Department of Gynecology, The People's Hospital of Yan'an Department of Reproductive Medicine, Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Yan'an Department of Chinese Medicine, The People's Hospital of Yan'an, Yan'an, China.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2017 Sep 1; 96 (36): e7959.

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the effect and safety of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) therapy for relieving pain in women with primary dysmenorrhea (PD).MethodsIn this study, 134 participants with PD were randomly divided into the intervention group and the sham group, with 67 participants in each group. Participants in the intervention group received TENS, whereas those in the sham group received sham TENS. The primary outcome was measured by the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS). The secondary outcomes were measured by the duration of relief from dysmenorrheal pain, number of ibuprofen tablets taken, and the World Health Organization quality of life (WHOQOL)-BREF score, as well as the adverse events.ResultsA total of 122 participants completed the study. Compared to sham TENS, TENS showed a greater effect in pain relief with regard to the NRS (P < .01), duration of relief from dysmenorrheal pain (P < .01), and number of ibuprofen tablets taken (P < .01). However, no significant differences in the quality of life, measured by the WHOQOL-BREF score, were found between 2 groups. The adverse event profiles were also similar between 2 groups.ConclusionTENS was efficacious and safe in relieving pain in participants with PD.

18 keywords...

hide…