Randomized controlled trial comparing of analgesic effectiveness of TPRF and TENs in clinical and endocrinological changes for chronic shoulder pain

Electrical stimulation is a component of many pain relief modalities. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a simple, low risk, outpatient treatment. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is an effective method for pain relief. Transcutaneous pulsed radiofrequency (TPRF) combines the advantages of TENS and PRF for treatment of musculoskeletal pain. This study is an evidence-based comparison that evaluated the pain scores and endocrinological changes of both TENS and TPRF. Thirty-three patients randomly selected from 61 screened patients were diagnosed with chronic shoulder pain. These patients were randomly distributed into two groups, with the first group receiving TENS treatment and the second group receiving TPRF treatment. Both TENS and PRF groups underwent 15 min of therapeutic intervention per session and three sessions over 1 week. Patients' pain scores were recorded before and after each session. Blood samples were taken for cortisol measurement before and after the treatment week and pain level was assessed. After each session, pain was reduced on the visual analog scale in both TENS (Group I) and TPRF (Group II) groups. After a 1-week therapy, TPRF group demonstrated a significantly better outcome with regard to the self-assessment pain relief (47.81% improvement) and TENS group reduction (19.1% improvement). Therefore, TPRF appeared to be more useful than TENS for short-term decrease of chronic shoulder pain.