Pain reduction using transcranial electrostimulation: a double blind "active placebo" controlled trial.

Authors

  • Lidia Gabis
  • Bentzion Shklar
  • Yael Kesner Baruch
  • Raanan Raz
  • Eddy Gabis
  • Daniel Geva

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-0315

Keywords:

electrostimulation, transcranial, active placebo, chronic pain, double-blind.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine the efficacy of transcranial electrical stimulation a non-invasive method of reducing pain. DESIGN: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SUBJECTS: A total of 119 patients with chronic pain. METHODS: Patients were treated with either transcranial electrical stimulation or an active placebo device. Short- and long-term follow-ups were evaluated for treatment efficacy with 4 ordinal scale variables: visual analogue scale (pain level), SLEEP (how often does pain disturb sleep), FREQ (frequency of pain) and MED (frequency of use of medications to relieve pain). RESULTS: Pain level decreased significantly in the transcranial electrical stimulation-treated group compared with the active-placebo group 3 weeks after the end of treatment (p = 0.0017 between groups). Other parameters did not demonstrate significant differences. Three months after the end of treatment this effect was maintained and other treatment parameters showed similar improvements. CONCLUSION: Transcranial electrical stimulation is an effective non-invasive method for pain relief. The active placebo device has a powerful effect on reported pain, which diminishes in the long-term. The involvement of possible neural mechanisms is discussed.

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Published

2008-12-22

How to Cite

Gabis, L., Shklar, B., Kesner Baruch, Y., Raz, R., Gabis, E., & Geva, D. (2008). Pain reduction using transcranial electrostimulation: a double blind "active placebo" controlled trial. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 41(4), 256–261. https://doi.org/10.2340/16501977-0315

Issue

Section

Original Report