The Journal of Pain
Volume 11, Issue 4 , Pages 351-359 , April 2010

Feasibility Study of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for Cancer Bone Pain

  • Michael I. Bennett

      Affiliations

    • Professor of Palliative Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress reprint requests to: Michael I. Bennett, Professor of Palliative Medicine, International Observatory on End of Life Care, School of Health and Medicine, Bowland Tower East, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom.
  • ,
  • Mark I. Johnson

      Affiliations

    • Professor of Pain and Analgesia, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Sarah R. Brown

      Affiliations

    • Senior Medical Statistician, Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Helen Radford

      Affiliations

    • Senior Research Nurse, Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Julia M. Brown

      Affiliations

    • Professor and Director, Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
  • ,
  • Robert D. Searle

      Affiliations

    • Specialist Registrar & Honorary Lecturer in Anaesthesia St James's University Hospital, Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

Received 28 April 2009 ,Revised 8 July 2009 ,Accepted 4 August 2009.

References 

  1. Aarskog R, Johnson MI, Demmink JH, Lofthus A, Iversen V, Lopes-Martins R, et al. Is mechanical pain threshold after transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) increased locally and unilaterally? A randomized placebo controlled trial in healthy subjects. Physiother Res Int. 2007;12:251–263
  2. Anderson GL, Prentice RL. Individually randomized intervention trials for disease prevention and control. Statistical Methods in Medical Research. 1999;8:287–309
  3. Bjordal JM, Johnson MI, Ljunggreen AE. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) can reduce postoperative analgesic consumption. A meta-analysis with assessment of optimal treatment parameters for postoperative pain. Eur J Pain. 2003;7:181–188
  4. Bjordal JM, Johnson MI, Lopes-Martins RA, Bogen B, Chow R, Ljunggren AE. Short term efficacy of physical interventions in osteoarthritic knee pain. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised placebo-controlled trials. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2007;8:51
  5. Browne RH. On the use of a pilot sample for sample size determination. Statistics in Medicine. 1995;14:1933–1940
  6. Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program. Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.0 (CTCAE). National Cancer Institute; 2006;Available at: www.cancer.gov
  7. Carroll D, Tramer M, McQuay H, Nye B, Moore A. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in labour pain: A systematic review. Br J Obstet Gynaecol. 1997;104:169–175
  8. Charlton J. Core Curriculum for Professional Education in Pain. 3rd Edition. Seattle: IASP Press; 2005;pp 93-96
  9. Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Guidance for the Clinical Use of Electrophysical Agents. 1st Edition. London: Chartered Society of Physiotherapy; 2006;
  10. Chesterton LS, Barlas P, Foster NE, Lundeberg T, Wright CC, Baxter GD. Sensory stimulation (TENS): Effects of parameter manipulation on mechanical pain thresholds in healthy human subjects. Pain. 2002;99:253–262
  11. Chesterton LS, Foster NE, Wright CC, Baxter DG, Barlas P. Effects of TENS frequency, intensity and stimulation site parameter manipulation on pressure pain thresholds in healthy human subjects. Pain. 2003;106:73–80
  12. Chow E, Hoskin P, van der Linden Y, Bottomley A, Velikova G. Quality of life and symptom end points in palliative bone metastases trials. Clinical Oncology. 2006;18:67–69
  13. Coluzzi PH, Schwartzberg L, Conroy JD, Charapata S, Gay M, Busch MA, et al. Breakthrough cancer pain: A randomized controlled trial comparing oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate and morphine sulphate immediate release. Pain. 2001;91:123–130
  14. Craig P, Dieppe P, Macintyre S, Michie S, Nazareth I, Petticrew M. Medical Research Council Guidance. Developing and evaluating complex interventions: The new Medical Research Council guidance. BMJ. 2008;337:1655
  15. Dworkin RH, Corbin AE, Young JP, Sharma U, LaMoreaux L, Bockbrader H, et al. Pregabalin for the treatment of postherpetic neuralgia: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Neurology. 2003;60:1274–1283
  16. Dworkin RH, Turk DC, Farrar JT, Haythornthwaite JA, Jensen MP, Katz NP, et al. Core outcome measures for chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. Pain. 2005;113:9–19
  17. Dworkin RH, Turk DC, Wyrwich KW, Beaton D, Cleeland CS, Farrar JT, et al. Interpreting the clinical importance of treatment outcomes in chronic pain clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations. J Pain. 2008;9:105–121
  18. Farrar JT, Portenoy RK, Berlin JA, Kinman JL, Strom BL. Defining the clinically important difference in pain outcome measures. Pain. 2000;88:287–294
  19. Farrar JT, Young JP, LaMoreaux L, Werth JL, Poole RM. Clinical importance of changes in chronic pain intensity measured on an 11- point numerical pain rating scale. Pain. 2001;94:149–158
  20. Garrison DW, Foreman RD. Decreased activity of spontaneous and noxiously evoked dorsal horn cells during transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). Pain. 1994;58:309–315
  21. Garrison D, Foreman R. Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) electrode placement on spontaneous and noxiously evoked dorsal horn cell activity in the cat. Neuromodulation. 2002;5:231–237
  22. Jensen MP, Karoly P. Self-report scales and procedures for assessing pain in adults. In:  Turk DC,  Melzack R editor. Handbook of Pain Assessment. 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford Press; 2001;p. 15–34
  23. Jensen MP, Turner JA, Romano JM, Fisher LD. Comparative reliability and validity of chronic pain intensity measures. Pain. 1999;83:157–162
  24. Johnson MJ. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. In:  Watson T editors. Electrotherapy: Evidence Based Practice. 12th Edition. London, UK: Churchill Livingstone; 2008;p. 253–296
  25. Johnson MI, Oxberry SG, Robb K. Stimulation-induced analgesia. In:  Sykes N,  Bennett MI,  Yuan C-S editor. Cancer Pain. Clinical Pain Management. 2nd Edition. London, UK: Hodder Arnold; 2008;p. 235–250
  26. Johnson M, Martinson M. Efficacy of electrical nerve stimulation for chronic musculoskeletal pain: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Pain. 2007;130:157–165
  27. Johnson MI, Tabasam G. An investigation into the analgesic effects of interferential and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on experimentally induced ischemic pain in otherwise pain-free volunteers. Phys Ther. 2003;83:208–223
  28. Julious S. Sample size of 12 per group rule of thumb for a pilot study. Pharmaceutical Statistics. 2005;4:287–291
  29. Khadilkar A, Odebiyi DO, Brosseau L, Wells GA. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) versus placebo for chronic low-back pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;(4):CD003008
  30. Lancaster GA, Dodd S, Williamson PR. Design and analysis of pilot studies: Recommendations for good practice. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice. 2004;10:307–312
  31. Lee KH, Chung JM, Willis WD. Inhibition of primate spinothalamic tract cells by TENS. J Neurosurg. 1985;62:276–287
  32. Linde K, Witt CM, Streng A, Weidenhammer W, Wagenpfeil S, Brinkhaus B, et al. The impact of patient expectations on outcomes in four randomized controlled trials of acupuncture in patients with chronic pain. Pain. 2007;128:264–271
  33. Liu XG, Morton CR, Azkue JJ, Zimmermann M, Sandkuhler J. Long-term depression of C-fibre-evoked spinal field potentials by stimulation of primary afferent A deltafibres in the adult rat. Eur J Neurosci. 1998;10:3069–3075
  34. Ma YT, Sluka KA. Reduction in inflammation-induced sensitization of dorsal horn neurons by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in anesthetized rats. Exp Brain Res. 2001;13:94–102
  35. Maeda Y, Lisi TL, Vance CGT, Sluka KA. Release of GABA and the activation of GABAA in the spinal cord mediates the effects of TENS in rats. Brain Res. 2007;1136:43–50
  36. McQuay HJ, Collins SL, Carroll D, Moore RA. Radiotherapy for the palliation of painful bone metastases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(3):CD001793
  37. Melzack R. The short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire. Pain. 1987;30:191–197
  38. Mercadante S. Malignant bone pain: Pathophysiology and treatment. Pain. 1997;69:1–18
  39. Nnoaham KE, Kumbang J. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;(3):CD003222
  40. Portenoy RK, Payne D, Jacobsen P. Breakthrough pain: Characteristics and impact in patients with cancer pain. Pain. 1999;81:129–134
  41. Robb K, Bennett MI, Johnson MI, Simpson KH, Oxberry SG. Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for cancer pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;(3):CD006276
  42. Searle RD, Bennett MI, Johnson MI, Callin S, Radford H. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for cancer bone pain (letter). Palliat Med. 2008;22:878–879
  43. Small EJ, Smith MR, Seaman JJ, Petrone S, Kowalski MO. Combined analysis of two multicentre randomized placebo controlled studies of pamidronate disodium for the palliation of bone pain in men with metastatic prostate cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2003;21:4277–4284
  44. Walsh DM, Howe TE, Johnson MI, Sluka KA. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for acute pain. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2009;(2):CD006142
  45. Wong R, Wiffen PJ. Bisphosphonates for the relief of pain secondary to bone metastases. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2002;(2):CD002068
  46. Urch CE, Donovan-Rodriguez T, Dickenson AH. Alterations in dorsal horn neurones in a rat model of cancer induced bone pain. Pain. 2003;106:347–356

 Supported by Cancer Research UK (C18324 / A7715) with additional support from an unrestricted grant awarded by Cephalon.

PII: S1526-5900(09)00663-4

doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2009.08.002

The Journal of Pain
Volume 11, Issue 4 , Pages 351-359 , April 2010