Articles: pain-management.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
A double-blind investigation of the hypoalgesic effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation upon experimentally induced ischaemic pain.
The hypoalgesic effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at 2 different frequencies was assessed under double-blind conditions using a standardised form of the submaximum effort tourniquet technique. For the purpose of pain induction, 32 healthy naive female subjects attended on 2 occasions, the first during which baseline data were obtained and the second during which the women were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 groups: Control, Placebo, TENS-1 (110 Hz) or TENS-2 (4 Hz). In the treatment groups, 2 hydrogel electrodes were positioned over Erb's point and lateral to C6 and C7 vertebral spines. ⋯ Analysis of VAS scores showed significant differences between groups (ANOVA, P = 0.02), with the TENS-2 group showing a greater hypoalgesic effect than the other groups. One-factor ANOVA showed no significant differences in MPQ scores between groups. The results of this study have provided evidence of the hypoalgesic effects of TENS upon experimental ischaemic pain which were found to be frequency specific with the lower frequency used here (4 Hz) demonstrating the only significant effect.
-
J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs · Feb 1995
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialFacilitated tucking: a nonpharmacologic comfort measure for pain in preterm neonates.
To identify the effectiveness of "facilitated tucking," a nonpharmacologic nursing intervention, as a comfort measure in modulating preterm neonates' physiologic and behavioral responses to minor pain. ⋯ Facilitated tucking is an effective comfort measure in attenuating premature neonates' psychologic and behavioral responses to minor pain.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Double-blind, placebo-controlled investigation of the effect of combined phototherapy/low intensity laser therapy upon experimental ischaemic pain in humans.
This study assessed the putative analgesic effect of combined monochromatic light/laser irradiation at low intensity (660-950 nm; 31.9 J/cm2; pulsed at 16 or 73 Hz). ⋯ These results do not provide convincing evidence for the hypoalgesic potential of combined monochromatic light/laser irradiation, at least at the parameters used here, and thus indicate the necessity of additional work to investigate this modality further in order to assess the potential benefit, if any, of such treatment in the clinical setting.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
The analgesic effect of acupuncture in chronic tennis elbow pain.
The immediate analgesic effect of a single non-segmental acupuncture stimulation treatment on chronic tennis elbow pain was studied in a placebo-controlled single-blind trial completed by 48 patients. Before and after treatment, all patients were examined physically by an unbiased independent examiner. Eleven-point box scales were used [13] for pain measurement. ⋯ After one treatment 19 out of 24 patients in the verum group (79.2%) reported pain relief of at least 50% (placebo group: six patients out of 24). The average duration of analgesia after one treatment was 20.2 h in the verum group (S = 21.54) and 1.4 h (S = 3.50) in the placebo group. The results are statistically significant (P < 0.01); they show that non-segmental verum acupuncture has an intrinsic analgesic effect in the clinical treatment of tennis elbow pain which exceeds that of placebo acupuncture.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Phentolamine sympathetic block in painful polyneuropathies. II. Further questioning of the concept of 'sympathetically maintained pain'.
To test for the presence of "sympathetically maintained pain" (SMP), we administered placebo-controlled phentolamine sympathetic blocks to 14 patients with painful polyneuropathies. Six received i.v. infusion of saline for 30 minutes, followed by phentolamine (35 mg). In eight patients, the saline phase was followed by double-blind infusion of phentolamine or phenylephrine (500 micrograms), a second saline phase, and then the other active drug. ⋯ Five patients reported significant diminution of pain (> 50%), all in response to placebo. Neither phentolamine nor phenylephrine provided relief, although all patients had signs of physiologic abnormalities reputed to be determinants or predictors of SMP. These results complement previous studies demonstrating the nonexistence of SMP among "reflex sympathetic dystrophy" patients and further question the concept of SMP.