A device known as Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) showed promise in a small study to reduce fatigue and pain associated with long COVID. TENS technology has been used to effectively treat pain from arthritis, back problems and other health conditions. Wearable TENS devices produce painless doses of electrical currents to a person’s nerves. This new study, published in Nature Scientific Reports, demonstrated that the devices could also alleviate pain and fatigue from long COVID. The 25 participants were all living with chronic cases of musculoskeletal pain, fatigue and gait problems tied to long COVID. The researchers assigned the individuals to one of two groups:
- the treatment group which wore a TENS device delivering high dose of stimulation
- the control group which wore a “placebo” TENS device that delivered only very low doses of the current
All study participants wore the devices for 3-5 hours every day for a month.
On average individuals assigned to the treatment group (assigned the fully functional TENS device) reported a 26% reduction in pain compared to individuals who wore the placebo device. The majority of participants said that the TENS devices were easy to use, which helped most people wear the devices several hours per day as instructed. One major limitation of the study, however, is the small sample size. As a result, the researchers leading the study said that larger trials would be needed to confirm their findings.
Full Story: HealthDay
