Tozawa Ryosuke, Kawasaki Tsubasa
Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Science, SBC Tokyo Medical University, Urayasu, JPN.
Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Tokyo International University, Kawagoe, JPN.
Cureus. 2025 Mar 13;17(3):e80537. doi: 10.7759/cureus.80537. eCollection 2025 Mar.
Patients often report experiencing pain, which can impose cognitive demands and affect balance. This cognitive burden may impact the ability to maintain a stable standing position during dual-tasking. This study aimed to investigate standing postural sway in healthy adults under electrical stimulation-induced pain.
Twenty-one participants, including 12 men and 9 women, were included in this study. Static and dynamic balance tests were conducted using a force plate. Electrodes from the Silver Spike Point electrotherapy device were attached to the inferior end of the ulnar styloid. The static balance test involved standing on the force plate, while the dynamic balance was assessed through a cross-test under two conditions: with and without electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation was delivered using a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit at an intensity that elicited a pain level of 5 on a numerical rating scale, as reported by the participants. Four tests, including static balance (with stimulus), static balance (without stimulus), cross (with stimulus), and cross (without stimulus), were each performed twice in a random order. Statistical analyses were performed to compare all variables between the control (without stimulus) and intervention (with stimulus) groups.
The static balance test showed a significantly reduced sway path length (37.16 cm without stimulation vs. 33.29 cm with stimulation). The dynamic balance test (cross-test) revealed no significant differences.
Healthy adult participants under electrical stimulation-induced pain had lower static standing sway. However, the dynamic balance test did not show significant changes even with the addition of electrical stimulation.
患者常报告经历疼痛，这会带来认知需求并影响平衡。这种认知负担可能会影响在执行双重任务时维持稳定站立姿势的能力。本研究旨在调查电刺激诱发疼痛状态下健康成年人的站立姿势摆动情况。
本研究纳入了21名参与者，包括12名男性和9名女性。使用测力台进行静态和动态平衡测试。将银质毫针电疗仪的电极附着于尺骨茎突下端。静态平衡测试是站在测力台上，而动态平衡则通过在两种条件下的交叉测试进行评估：有和没有电刺激。使用经皮神经电刺激仪进行电刺激，强度设定为参与者报告在数字评分量表上引发5级疼痛水平。四项测试，包括静态平衡（有刺激）、静态平衡（无刺激）、交叉（有刺激）和交叉（无刺激），均以随机顺序各进行两次。进行统计分析以比较对照组（无刺激）和干预组（有刺激）之间的所有变量。
静态平衡测试显示摆动路径长度显著缩短（无刺激时为37.16厘米，有刺激时为33.29厘米）。动态平衡测试（交叉测试）未显示出显著差异。
电刺激诱发疼痛状态下的健康成年参与者静态站立摆动较小。然而，即使增加了电刺激，动态平衡测试也未显示出显著变化。
