Nayback-Beebe Ann, Panula Tanya, Arzola Sonya, Goff Brandon
U.S. Army Medical Research & Materiel Command, 810 Schreider St., Fort Detrick, MD 21702.
U.S. Army Medical Command, 2271 Reynolds Road, Bldg. 4025, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234.
Mil Med. 2020 Jan 7;185(Suppl 1):143-147. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usz253.
Calmare Scrambler Therapy (ST) interferes with pain signal transmission by using nerve fibers to convey a message of normality to the central nervous system. This prospective, double-blinded, randomized trial had three aims. First, we tried to determine ST's effectiveness in reducing chronic neuropathic pain symptoms and analgesic medication use in military service members, when compared to sham treatment. Next, we examined its effect on reported mental and physical health-related quality of life. Finally, we sought to describe participant perceptions of treatment effectiveness.
Forty-seven subjects were randomized to receive ten 30-minute active ST or sham treatments. Data were collected at baseline, posttreatment, and 1-month follow-up.
The groups showed no statistically significant differences in pain scores, medication use, or mental or physical health-related quality of life with active versus sham treatment. However, both produced clinically meaningful reductions in pain and improvements in physical health-related quality posttreatment that was sustained at 1-month follow-up. Ninety percent of the blinded sample described the treatment intervention as a partial or complete success.
ST is no better than sham treatment in decreasing pain. Yet, patient perceptions of treatment effectiveness are equally important in chronic pain treatment.
Calmare 干扰电疗法（ST）通过利用神经纤维向中枢神经系统传递正常信息来干扰疼痛信号的传递。这项前瞻性、双盲、随机试验有三个目的。首先，与假治疗相比，我们试图确定 ST 在减轻军人慢性神经性疼痛症状和减少止痛药物使用方面的有效性。其次，我们研究了它对报告的与心理和身体健康相关的生活质量的影响。最后，我们试图描述参与者对治疗效果的看法。
47 名受试者被随机分配接受 10 次每次 30 分钟的主动 ST 治疗或假治疗。在基线、治疗后和 1 个月随访时收集数据。
在疼痛评分、药物使用或与心理和身体健康相关的生活质量方面，主动治疗组与假治疗组之间没有统计学上的显著差异。然而，两者在治疗后都使疼痛有了临床上有意义的减轻，并且与身体健康相关的生活质量得到改善，这种改善在 1 个月随访时得以维持。90%的盲法样本将治疗干预描述为部分或完全成功。
在减轻疼痛方面 ST 并不比假治疗更好。然而，患者对治疗效果的看法在慢性疼痛治疗中同样重要。
