Physical therapy
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Effects of unilateral and bilateral auricular transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on cutaneous pain threshold.
This study compared the effects of unilateral and bilateral auricular transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on cutaneous pain threshold. Auricular acupuncture points were stimulated with low frequency, high intensity TENS for 45 seconds. Sixty healthy, adult subjects were assigned randomly to one of two treatment groups or to a control group. ⋯ Both unilateral and bilateral auricular stimulation groups exhibited a significant increase (p less than .05) in experimental pain threshold, but the control group did not. The mean change values between the unilateral and bilateral stimulation groups were not statistically different. These results suggest that both unilateral and bilateral auricular TENS can increase pain threshold.