School of Physiotherapy and Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Physiother Theory Pract. 2011 Apr;27(3):246-51. doi: 10.3109/09593985.2010.487926. Epub 2010 Aug 8.
Monophasic pulsed electrical stimulation (PES) has been reported to improve pain and function in osteoarthritis of the knee with few side effects. This use of monophasic current is contrary to conventional thinking where it is often associated with adverse skin reactions. The objectives of this study were to compare the rates of adverse skin reactions, using independently developed subsensory monophasic PES in healthy subjects, with those described in previous studies and compare the rate of adverse skin reactions after using the monophasic PES with that after using the same shaped electrical waveform that is asymmetrically biphasic. Healthy subjects (n=25) with no contraindications to electrical stimulation were administered subsensory, monophasic, and biphasic PES sequentially to the knee region for approximately 10 minutes each. Stimulation intensities; duration of stimulation; description of sensation reported; skin condition after intervention; and duration of skin reaction were all recorded. Fifty-two percent of subjects experienced adverse skin reactions using monophasic PES. This was significantly different from the reported rates in three of the four previous studies (p<0.04). Only one subject (4%) using the biphasic current demonstrated an adverse skin reaction. Results support the caution advised in the electrotherapy literature when using monophasic electrical stimulation.
单相脉冲电刺激（PES）已被报道可改善膝骨关节炎的疼痛和功能，且副作用较少。这种单相电流的应用与传统思维相悖，因为单相电流通常与不良反应的皮肤反应有关。本研究的目的是比较在健康受试者中使用独立开发的亚阈单相 PES 的不良反应发生率，并与之前研究中描述的不良反应发生率进行比较，以及比较使用单相 PES 后的不良反应发生率与使用相同形状的不对称双相电波形后的不良反应发生率。无电刺激禁忌症的健康受试者（n=25）依次接受亚阈单相和双相 PES 治疗，膝关节区域每次治疗约 10 分钟。记录刺激强度、刺激持续时间、报告的感觉描述、干预后的皮肤状况以及皮肤反应持续时间。52%的受试者使用单相 PES 出现不良反应。这与之前四项研究中的三项（p<0.04）报道的发生率显著不同。只有一名受试者（4%）使用双相电流出现不良反应。结果支持电疗文献中在使用单相电刺激时的谨慎建议。
