EBP Week 1 by Erin Gaylor- MT vs TENS

Hi all! We are lucky enough to have 3 OTA students from CCBC with us for the next 8 weeks. Every week they are going to turn in a research article and lit review summary with info related to our OT practice area. Enjoy!

EBP Week 1 by Erin Gaylor

A randomized controlled clinical trial conducted from 2005 – 2007 investigated the effectiveness of manual therapy with transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation to reduce pain intensity in patients with mechanical neck disorder without neurological damage.  The trial was performed in 12 different Primary Care Physiotherapy Units in Madrid, Spain.  Ten treatment sessions of 30 minutes of TENS or MT were provided on alternate days by primary care physical therapists on 90 patients.  47 of the patients received only manual therapy and 43 received only TENS.  Both groups of patients also received information about postural skills, isometric exercises and neck exercises to perform at home. 

                  The evaluations were performed by physiotherapists before the intervention, when the intervention was finished, and six months after.  The physiotherapists were unaware of which treatment each patient had received.  The evaluation measured pain reduction using the Visual Analogue Scale and improvement in disability rate using the Neck Disability Index.   It also measured improvement in general health state using the Physical Component Summary (PCS-12) and Mental Component Summary (MCS-12). 

                  The results showed that more than half of the patients experienced a clinically relevant short term reduction in pain after the intervention when either MT or TENS was used.  After six months, the success rate decreased to one-third.  No clinically relevant difference was found in the reduction of pain between the two different therapies.  This trial provided evidence that both MT and TENS can be used to provide short term pain relief in patients with mechanical neck disorder.  Short term pain relief can in turn improve a patient’s quality of life and increase his or her participation in occupations.

Reference:

Escortell-Mayor, E., Riesgo-Fuertes, R., Garrido-Elustondo, S., Asúnsolo-Del Barco, A., Díaz-Pulido, B.,           Blanco-Díaz, M., & Bejerano-Álvarez, E. (2011). Primary care randomized clinical trial: manual therapy effectiveness in comparison with TENS in patients with neck pain. Manual Therapy, 16(1), 66-73. doi:10.1016/j.math.2010.07.003

I have the PDF of the article too but did not know how to attach...let me know if you want it or if you know how I can post it! Thanks!

Link to article