[The use of electrical transcutaneous nerve stimulations in chronic pain. Method and preliminary results in 28 cases (author's transl)].

The analgesic effect of conventional transcutaneous nerve stimulation has been studied in 29 patients, all having a chronic pain caused by peripheral neurological disease. As already reported in the literature half of patients were improved on a short-term basis. Long-term improvement was observed mainly in patients with traumatic nerve lesions; such cases, thus appear to be the best indication for this method. It should be emphasized that whatever the etiology, the delay between the onset of pain and the beginning of transcutaneous stimulations was a critical factor. Nine out of ten patients suffering for less than one year were satisfactorily improved. This suggests that transcutaneous stimulations should be used as early as possible after the onset of neurological pain.