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Rehabilitation Practice and Science

Translated Title

經皮神經電刺激在針刺肌電圖檢查時之止痛效果

Abstract

Needle electromyography (EMG) is an important diagnostic and prognostic tool in physical medicine. However, some patients are unable to tolerate the pain associated with the procedure. While there has been research in methods aimed at reducing the pain from needle EMG, all have obvious disadvantages.TENS is a widely accepted tool for producing analgesia, but it has not been studied as an analgesic adjunct to needle EMG. We designed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study to investigate the effectiveness of TENS on alleviating the pain during a needle EMG study.Fifty-nine subjects undergoing needle EMG study in an upper extremity were randomly assigned into the experimental group (31 patients) and the placebo group (28 patients). For the experimental group, TENS was applied at a pulse rate of 100Hz and a pulse width of 200 μs during the whole course of EMG study. The placebo group was treated similarly except for a pulse rate of 2Hz, essentially a sham TENS procedure. TENS electrodes were placed over acupuncture points He Gu (LI4), Gu Chi (LI-11),Tai Chong (LIV3), and Yang Ling Quan (GB34) on the limb contralateral to the one undergoing EMG study. The subjects were asked to quantify the pain they experienced during EMG study by using a 100 mm visual analog scale (VAS). The experimental group experienced significantly less pain during needleEMG study than the control group (7.35±32.37 vs. 41.36±35.45, p=0.0003). TENS appears to be a useful tool in providing anesthesia during needle EMG study. It is a commonly available modality that is easy to operate without requiring too much time.

Language

Traditional Chinese

First Page

235

Last Page

240

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