Does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation reduce pain and improve quality of life in patients with idiopathic chronic orchialgia? A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundChronic orchialgia is defined as testicular pain, which may be either unilateral or bilateral, lasting for more than 3 months. It disturbs a patient’s daily activities and quality of life (QoL), inciting the patient to search for treatments to alleviate the pain. It is estimated that 25% of chronic orchialgia cases are idiopathic.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate how effective transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is in pain reduction and how it consequently affects the QoL in patients with idiopathic chronic orchialgia (ICO).Patients and methodsSeventy-one patients were randomly assigned to group A (study group), which included 36 patients who received TENS and analgesia, and group B (control group), which included 35 patients who received analgesia only. The outcome measures were the participants’ demographic data and results of the visual analog scale (VAS) and QoL questionnaire. These outcomes were measured before and after 4 weeks of treatment and at 2-month follow-up.ResultsThe results showed that compared to pretreatment, there was a significant reduction in pain postintervention and at 2-month follow-up in group A (P<0.0001 and <0.001, respectively; F=7.1) as well as a significant improvement in QoL at these time points (P<0.0001 and <0.0001, respectively). There were no significant differences in the VAS score and QoL in group B at different time points of evaluation.ConclusionThe findings indicate that TENS is effective in reducing pain and improving patients’ QoL in cases of ICO. TENS is an easy-to-use, effective, noninvasive, and simple method for ICO-associated pain control and QoL improvement.

A randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of interferential therapy on pain, range of motion and quality of life in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain

“…Electrotherapy is a non-pharmaceutical and non-invasive method for pain reduction, which includes transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS), laser photobiomodulation, ultrasound, magnetic therapy and interferential current [13][14][15][16][17] .…”

Non-pharmacological treatments for chronic orchialgia: A systemic review

“…Thus, 34 studies were included in this systemic review; six prospective, 21 retrospective and seven case series. Most studies reported the results of microsurgical spermatic cord denervation (MSCD) (n = 19) [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27], while the remaining studies investigated the impact of various nerve-blocking techniques (n = 8) [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35], vasectomy reversal (n = 5) [36][37][38][39][40], and extirpative surgery (n = 2) [41,42].…”

“…The effects of TENS are mediated through a number of receptors in the CNS and PNS including opioid, serotonin, muscarinic and α 2adrenergic receptors [46]. A single randomised clinical trial by Tantawy et al [28] was conducted on 71 patients with CO who were randomised into a study group (analgesia + TENS, n = 36) and a control group (analgesia alone, n = 35). The TENS was performed five-times per week for 4 weeks, where the anode electrode was placed in the suprapubic area medial to the iliofemoral ligament and the cathode 5 cm proximal to it.…”

Terazosin or baclofen in young men with chronic orchialgia: A cohort study of 499 patients

“…3,6,[25][26][27] However, chronic pelvic pain in men has not been as sufficiently studied as chronic pelvic pain in women. 3,4 In a randomized controlled trial, Tantawy et al 28 investigated how effective transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is in pain reduction and how it consequently affects the quality of life in patients with ICO. The results demonstrated that TENS is effective in reducing pain and improving quality of life in cases of ICO.…”