Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerves Stimulation (TENS) on Pain Intensity in Patients with Primary Dysmenorrhea among the Undergraduates of a Nigerian University: A Randomized Control Study

Abstract

Background: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug has been reported to be effective in the management of primary dysmenorrhea, but it has associated side effects. The present study determined the influence of electrical stimulation on the pain intensity in female undergraduates with primary dysmenorrhea. Methods: This is a randomized control study including 50 participants with primary dysmenorrhea lasting for five days equally. They were randomly allocated into two groups: transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and Control. Subjects in TENS group were treated with TENS for 15 minutes twice daily while the other group served as control. Participants were treated for five days, the severity of pain was examined in both groups pre-treatment and post-intervention. Values of the obtained variables were analyzed and the significant level was set at 0.05. Results: Results revealed a significant reduction (t=7.956, P<0.001) in the severity of pain between pre-treatment and posttreatment on the 1st day; also, in the TENS group, there was a substantial change (t=3.610, P<0.001) in the severity of pain on the 5th day post-treatment. There was a substantial reduction (t=2.599, P<0.001) in the severity of pain in the TENS group compared with the control group on the 3rd day (1.80 1.15, 2.38±1.77,) and 5th day (0.52±0.65, 0.94±1.33), respectively. Conclusion: Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation was found to be an effective approach to relieving primary dysmenorrhea among female undergraduates.