A Comparison of Different Electrode Placements on the Effectiveness of TENS in Pain Relief for Post-cholecystectomy Patients

Abstract

<h2>Summary</h2> The aim of this study was to compare electrode placement over the acupuncture point for the gall bladder with conventional para-incisional electrode placement in transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), for pain relief efficacy in cholecystectomy patients. On the first and second post-operative days, TENS was applied for 20 minutes twice daily to 12 patients post-cholecystectomy. At the first application, the electrodes were placed either posteriorly over the acupuncture point for the gall bladder (‘Dan Yu' gall bladder point BL-19 — figure 1) (Mann, 1978), or alternatively, the electrode placement was para-incisional on the anterior abdominal wall. Later that day the electrode positions were reversed for the second TENS treatment. Pain was assessed, using a linear analogue pain scale, before, immediately after and 30 minutes post TENS. This study demonstrated no significant difference in pain relief when comparing the positions of the electrodes. There was, however, a general subjective improvement in pain relief with TENS irrespective of electrode positions.