TENS + Physical Therapy Aids Fibromyalgia Symptoms

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By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on April 6, 2026.

via HealthDay

MONDAY, April 6, 2026 -- Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) plus outpatient physical therapy (PT) reduces movement-based pain in patients with fibromyalgia, according to a study published online March 27 in JAMA Network Open.

Dana L. Dailey, P.T., Ph.D., from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues evaluated whether TENS is effective for treating pain associated with fibromyalgia when combined with PT. The analysis included 384 participants with fibromyalgia from 28 PT clinics who were randomly assigned to PT plus TENS (PT-TENS) or PT only (191 and 193 participants, respectively).

The researchers found that movement-evoked pain at day 60 during TENS treatment was significantly lower in the PT-TENS group versus the PT-only group (group mean difference, −1.2; d = 0.46). There was a dose-response effect for TENS, with more participants in the PT-TENS group reporting improvement on the Patient Global Impression of Change (72 versus 51 percent), as well as a greater reduction in movement-evoked pain in a responder analysis (41 versus 13 percent). At day 180, 81 percent of responders found TENS helpful and 55 percent used TENS daily. There were no serious adverse events, and 30 percent experienced minor adverse events during the six-month study period.

"The study shows that TENS provides an added benefit on top of any relief from other treatments," Dailey said in a statement. "All the study participants were also using pain medications and receiving physical therapy, yet TENS still provided additional relief."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

Source: HealthDay

Posted : 2026-04-07 01:53

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