Analysis of a Nationwide Database
Robert Pivec, MD
Orthopedics
December 2013 – Volume 36 · Issue 12: 922-928
DOI: 10.3928/01477447-20131120-04
This study evaluated patients who were given transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) compared with a matched group without TENS prior to intervention and at 1-year follow-up. Patients who were treated with TENS had significantly fewer hospital and clinic visits, used less diagnostic imaging (31 vs 46 events per 100 patients), had fewer physical therapy visits (94 vs 107), and required less back surgery (7.5 vs 9.2 surgeries) than patients receiving other treatment modalities. Total annual costs for chronic low back pain patients without neurological involvement were lower in TENS patients ($17,957 vs $17,986 for non-TENS), even when the cost of the device was taken into account.