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Electric Nerve Stimulation

Electric nerve stimulation uses a small device to send mild electrical pulses through the skin, which is thought to interrupt pain signals traveling along nerves and to nudge the body's own pain-dampening pathways. People mostly look at it for chronic pain, and trials found pain intensity went down by a moderate amount compared with placebo, and also compared with standard care treatments. Even so, the evidence is limited, and the results came mainly from the period during or just after treatment, so they say little about lasting relief.

Best evidence
Grade C
Conditions studied
1
Outcomes
2
Graded outcomes
0020

Evidence by condition

  • Strong
  • Moderate
  • Limited
  • Very limited

1 condition

Chronic pain

Chronic pain: outcomes studied for Electric Nerve Stimulation
GradeOutcomeEffectSizeStudiesPeopleStudies list
Pain Intensity

Moderate Decrease - SMD -0.96 vs placebo during/after treatment (moderate-certainty evidence)

Improves (the measure goes down)Moderate effect4,841 people
Pain vs Standard Care

Moderate Decrease - SMD -0.72 vs standard care treatments

Improves (the measure goes down)Moderate effect3,155 people

Key findings

  • Pain IntensityChronic painImproves (the measure goes down)
  • Pain vs Standard CareChronic painImproves (the measure goes down)

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Third-party tested Electric Nerve Stimulation products. The evidence above is limited, so read it before you buy.

  • Grade C

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Studies cited

4 studies from PubMed

  1. Efficacy and safety of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for acute and chronic pain in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 381 studies (the meta-TENS study)BMJ Open, 2022 · PMID 35144946
  2. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic pain - an overview of Cochrane ReviewsCochrane Database Syst Rev, 2019 · PMID 30776855
  3. Remote analgesic effects of conventional transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation: a scientific and clinical review with a focus on chronic painJ Pain Res, 2019 · PMID 31669610
  4. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for chronic low back painCochrane Database Syst Rev, 2001 · PMID 11406059