Estimulação Elétrica Nervosa Transcutânea no Alívio da Dor Pós-Operatória Relacionada com Procedimentos Fisioterapêuticos em Pacientes Submetidos a Intervenções Cirúrgicas Abdominais* Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in the Relief of Pain Related to Physical Therapy after Abdominal Surgery

SUMMARY Tonella RM, Araujo S, Silva AMO — Transcutaneous Electrical NerveStimulation in the Relief of Pain Related to Physical Therapy after Ab-dominal Surgery. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There are few studies ontranscutaneous electrical stimulation (TENS) as an adjunct topostoperative physical therapy. The objective of this study was todetermine the efficacy of TENS on relieving pain related to physicaltherapy after abdominal surgery. METHODS: A clinical, randomized, prospective study was un-dertaken with 48 patients on the first postoperative day, who presenteda pain score ≥ 3 on the visual analogic scale (VAS). Patients weredivided in three groups: Control Group: treated with the usualanalgesic routine, without TENS, and with physical therapy; StudyGroup: treated with the usual analgesic routine associated withTENS and physical therapy; Contrast-Placebo Group: treated withthe usual analgesic routine associated with physical therapy butTENS was off. A visual analogic scale of pain was presented to thepatients before (M1), after TENS (M2), and after physical therapy(M3) – cough, incentive spirometry, changing lateral decubitus andsitting – to quantify the efficacy of the analgesia. Electrical sti-mulation was done during 30 minutes.