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A RANDOMISED CLINICAL TRIAL OF TENS AND EXERCISE FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC NECK PAIN

Background: Both transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and exercise rehabilitation have been reported as possible successful treatment modalities for patients with chronic neck pain.

Research question/s: Does TENS on acupuncture points or neck exercise rehabilitation improve pain and increase muscle strength in chronic neck pain patients?

Methodology:Subjects:218 patients with chronic neck pain.:Experimental procedure: All the subjects were randomly assigned to either (1) TENS over the acupuncture points plus infrared irradiation (TENS = 73); (2) exercise training (EX = 67); or (3) a control group (CON = 78) (infrared irradiation alone). Treatment was administered 2/week for 6 weeks. Subjects were assessed before, after 6 weeks treatment, and at 6 months.: Measures of outcome: Pain (verbal numeric pain scale), function (Northwick Park Neck Pain Questionnaire), muscle strength (isometric neck muscle strength – component score coefficient).

Main finding/s: Improvements in neck muscle strength was observed in all three groups after 6 weeks. Improvement in the CON group was not clinically significant and it could not be maintained at the 6-month follow-up.

Conclusion/s: 6 weeks treatment with either TENS or neck muscle exercise rehabilitation resulted in clinically relevant improvements in disability, isometric neck muscle strength, and pain in patients with chronic neck pain.