TENS added to home exercise reduced pain in early knee osteoarthritis
This brief uses only the trial abstract, which reports added pain relief but no statistically significant differences in several broader outcomes.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
In older adults with early or mild knee osteoarthritis, adding TENS to home exercise produced greater reductions in activity-related knee pain than sham TENS with the same exercise approach. Knee-extensor strength improved in the painful knee, while several broader outcomes showed no statistically significant differences. The abstract leaves the size and duration of the extra benefit unclear.
The abstract omits duration, effect sizes, confidence intervals and adverse-event results. It cannot establish whether the extra pain reduction was clinically meaningful or how long it persisted.
What researchers found
Knee pain during activity
Visual analog scale scores fell more with TENS plus home exercise than with sham TENS plus home exercise; assessment timing unreported.
Testing an added treatment
TENS is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. Because both groups performed home exercise, the trial tested stimulation's added contribution. Pain scores fell in both groups, with a greater decrease after active TENS.
Other outcomes remain uncertain
No significant between-group differences were detected for walking, physical activity, daily activities or mental health. Knee-extensor strength increased in the painful knee; no change was reported in the non-painful knee. Undetected effects remain possible.
The original publication
Effects of TENS with home exercise improve pain and muscle strength in older adults with pre-radiographic to mild knee osteoarthritis.
Katagiri N, Kawashima K, Hamasuna M et al.
Sci Rep · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41238645
- Record checked
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