Acedo Adriano Alexandre, Luduvice Antunes Ana Carolina, Barros dos Santos André, Barbosa de Olveira Cintia, Tavares dos Santos Claudia, Colonezi Gustavo Lacreta Toledo, Fontana Felipe Antonio Medeiros, Fukuda Thiago Yukio
J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2015;28(1):19-24. doi: 10.3233/BMR-140482.
Recent studies have shown that a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential current (IFC) application reduces pain in subjects with musculoskeletal disorders. However there are no clinical trials evaluating or comparing the muscle relaxation generated for these devices.
To compare the muscle relaxation of the upper trapezius induced by the application of TENS and IFC in females with chronic nonspecific neck discomfort.
Sixty-four females between 18 and 40 years of age and a history of nonspecific neck discomfort were randomly assigned to a TENS or an IFC group. The women in the TENS (N = 32; mean age 22 years) and IFC (N = 32, mean age 23 years) group were submitted to current application during 3 consecutive days and were assessed by electromyography (EMG) in different times aiming to quantify the muscular tension of the upper trapezius. A visual analogue scale (VAS) was used as pain measure at baseline (before TENS or IFC application) and at the end of the study.
At baseline, demographic, pain, and EMG assessment data were similar between groups. Those in the IFC group had a significant trapezius relaxation after 3 IFC applications when compared to baseline and intermediate evaluations (P < 0.05). In contrast, the same analysis showed no significant difference between all assessments in the TENS group (P >0.05). In relation to pain relief, both groups showed an improvement at the end of the study when compared to baseline (both,P <0.05). The between-group analysis showed no difference for the subjects who received such IFC as TENS application (P <0.05).
IFC induced the upper trapezius relaxation after 3 sessions in females with neck discomfort, but the TENS application did not change the muscular tension. However, these results should be carefully interpreted due to the lack of differences between groups. A significant pain decrease was found in the subjects of both groups, however, only the IFC application presented a clinically important improvement.
近期研究表明，经皮电刺激神经疗法（TENS）和干扰电流（IFC）的应用可减轻肌肉骨骼疾病患者的疼痛。然而，尚无临床试验评估或比较这些设备产生的肌肉放松效果。
比较TENS和IFC应用对患有慢性非特异性颈部不适的女性上斜方肌肌肉放松的影响。
64名年龄在18至40岁之间且有非特异性颈部不适病史的女性被随机分为TENS组或IFC组。TENS组（N = 32；平均年龄22岁）和IFC组（N = 32，平均年龄23岁）的女性连续3天接受电流刺激，并在不同时间通过肌电图（EMG）进行评估，以量化上斜方肌的肌肉张力。在基线（TENS或IFC应用前）和研究结束时，使用视觉模拟量表（VAS）作为疼痛测量指标。
在基线时，两组的人口统计学、疼痛和EMG评估数据相似。与基线和中间评估相比，IFC组的患者在接受3次IFC刺激后斜方肌有明显放松（P < 0.05）。相比之下，相同分析显示TENS组的所有评估之间无显著差异（P > 0.05）。关于疼痛缓解，与基线相比，两组在研究结束时均有改善（均P < 0.05）。组间分析显示，接受IFC和TENS刺激的受试者之间无差异（P < 0.05）。
IFC在对颈部不适的女性进行3次治疗后可诱导上斜方肌放松，但TENS应用并未改变肌肉张力。然而，由于组间缺乏差异，这些结果应谨慎解读。两组受试者的疼痛均显著减轻，但只有IFC应用显示出具有临床意义的改善。
