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Contralateral Antalgic Effect of High‐Frequency Transcutaneous Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
Author(s) -
Buonocore Michelangelo,
Camuzzini Nereo,
Dall'Angelo Anna,
Mandrini Silvia,
Dalla Toffola Elena
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
pmandr
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.617
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1934-1563
pISSN - 1934-1482
DOI - 10.1016/j.pmrj.2014.06.012
Subject(s) - medicine , stimulation , transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation , radial nerve , anesthesia , peripheral , analgesic , threshold of pain , rehabilitation , surgery , physical therapy , alternative medicine , pathology
Objective To investigate the analgesic effect of high‐frequency transcutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation (HF‐TPNS) in the ipsilateral and contralateral skin territory of the stimulated nerve. Design Prospective, cross‐over study. Setting Clinical neurophysiology unit, institutional care, rehabilitation center. Participants Ten healthy volunteers (5 male, 5 female). Methods Participants underwent 3 different sessions. In the first, heat pain thresholds (HPTs) were measured on the left dorsal hand skin without stimulation; in the second and third sessions, HPTs were measured, respectively, in the territory of the left and right radial nerve before, during, and after an electrical stimulation (10 minutes, 100 Hz, 0.1 ms) of the left superficial radial nerve. Main Outcome Measurement Heat pain threshold. Results An increase of HPTs was observed in the skin territory of both right and left radial nerve during and after the left radial nerve stimulation. Conclusion The present study demonstrates an analgesic effect of HF‐TPNS not only in the ipsilateral but also in the contralateral side of stimulation, suggesting a possible role of contralateral HF‐TPNS in the treatment by physical therapy of patients with unilateral pain syndromes.