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April 1, 2010 — For the first time in more than a decade, the American Society of Anesthesiologists Task Force on Chronic Pain Management has updated its chronic pain guidelines. The new recommendations are designed to help clinicians who treat pain. The objectives are to optimize pain control, enhance physical and psychological well-being, and minimize adverse outcomes. I have attached the announcement from Medscape and a copy of the actual guidelines that were just published in the April issue of the Anesthesiology Journal. The great news is that they recommend the use of TENS for Chronic Pain. On page 816 “TENS: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of TENS compared with sham TENS reports lower pain scores or greater pain relief from back pain for assessment periods ranging from 1 h to 1 month (Category A1 evidence). Observational findings indicate that TENS provides improved pain scores for a variety of pain conditions for assessment periods of 3 to 6 months (Category B2 evidence). Consultants, ASA members, and ASRA members agree that TENS should be used for patients with chronic noncancer pain.” And further down the same page: “TENS should be used as part of a multimodal approach to pain management for patients with chronic back pain and may be used for other pain conditions (e.g., neck and phantom limb pain).” This should help to diffuse the effect of the negative guideline from the American Academy of Neurology. Hopefully we can be proactive and get this in the news as much as the AAN article. Using cranial electrotherapy stimulation to treat pain associated with spinal cord injury (pdf) Microcurrent Therapy: Wave of the Future? (pdf) The Basis for Microcurrent Electrical Therapy in Conventional Medical Practice (pdf)
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