Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Low Back Pain
RecruitingNot applicableNCT05812885
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This study has no listed site in Canada in this snapshot. It is included as part of the worldwide chronic pain corpus.
Brief summary (from the registry)
Low back pain is a significant public health problem, is very prevalent, and is often characterized by the persistence of symptoms. Unfortunately, substantial improvements in people with chronic low back pain are rare, causing most people to live with the pain. People with chronic low back pain may have an exaggerated pain response to nociceptive input into tissues that may also cause symptoms distant from the site of the primary symptoms. Historically, these symptoms were thought to be related to pathoanatomic changes to the muscles, ligaments, or joints. However, the severity of these structural changes weakly correlates with the clinical presentation and, in most cases, is not directly related to diagnostic image findings. Patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain, in general, show signs of local/central sensitization. The central sensitization may appear to be directly correlated with the intensity and duration of pain. Therefore, it is essential to reduce pain intensity and minimize the duration of pain to prevent this from happening. Pain relief for chronic low back pain patients should be aimed at treatments that reduce central excitability and increase central inhibition. Research into chronic low back pain treatment has demonstrated strong evidence that different types of exercise decrease pain and improve quality of life. However, exercise itself may be painful, preventing a person from exercising. Thus, treatments aimed at decreasing pain will improve a person's ability to exercise and participate in activities of daily living. One treatment aimed at reducing central excitability and increasing central inhibition is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). TENS is a "non-pharmacological" treatment for pain that is inexpensive, safe, and easy to use. Prior studies show that TENS utilizes opioid receptors both spinally and supraspinally to inhibit nociceptive dorsal horn neurons, reduce excitatory neurotransmitter release, and reduce hyperalgesi…
Study details
- Official title
- Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Chronic Low-Back Pain: A Randomized Crossover Trial
- Conditions
- Interventions
- Sponsor
- University of Hartford
- Start date
- 2023-11-15
- Primary completion
- 2025-05
- Sex
- All
- Age range
- from 18 Years to 60 Years
- Results posted
- No results posted in this snapshot
- Countries
- United States
- Total sites listed
- 1
Eligibility criteria
Show eligibility criteria (verbatim from the registry)
Inclusion Criteria: * people who have experienced back pain for at least 3 months * and have reported a minimal pain level of 3 on the 0-10 Pain Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) * age from 18-60 * TENS naive or have not used TENS for 5 years. * Both men and women may participate in the study Exclusion Criteria: * Serious spinal disorders, such as fractures, tumors, or inflammatory arthritis disease * nerve root disorders confirmed by neurological tests; * neurological diseases * severe cardiorespiratory disease * pregnancy * skin infection or lesions or change in sensation at the TENS application site * cancer * cardiac pacemaker * allergy to electrodes * use of opioids.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov (US National Library of Medicine), snapshot October 2026. Check the registry for current recruiting status. Record: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05812885