Effect of transcutaneous electro-stimulation in postoperative rehabilitation pain treatment in thoracic surgery: a randomized clinical trial

Chest pain is one of the most difficult problems to solve after thoracic surgery. Its correct control is often quite difficult, which can cause complications due to an ineffective cough and superficial respiratory movements.

This study has been designed with the purpose of studying the value of transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) in the postoperative pain rehabilitation of thoracotomy. A prospective and randomized study has been developed. The patients (n = 109) have been treated after hospital discharge with physiotherapy for 3 weeks. Three groups have been established: experimental (n = 37), control (n = 35), and placebo (n = 37), experimental and placebo including the application of TENS during the physiotherapy protocol. Postoperative pain (McGill test) and spirometry have been studied before and after treatment.

The largest between-group discrepancy occurred between the experimental and control groups, 16.77 points (p < 0.001). Spirometry has shown an improvement in FVC (27.11%) and FEV1 (28.68%) (p < 0.001) in the experimental group, which was statistically significant compared to the other groups.

The use of TENS, as an adjunctive treatment to physiotherapy, leads to an improvement in pain control and spirometry values in patients after thoracic surgery, without producing side effects with the technique. These findings provide physiological evidence for the use of TENS in post-pulmonary surgery and may form the basis for the development of pain managed-based programs in clinics and hospitals.

NCT04964973 (ClinicalTrials.gov). First registration: July 16, 2021.

Protocol: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04964973.