Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) in Patients with Pregnancy-Induced Low Back Pain and/or Pelvic Girdle Pain

Purpose: Low back and/or pelvic girdle pain is common during pregnancy and may persist after delivery. Therapeutic methods to alleviate pain, with no side effects for mother and child, are of high clinical importance. The consensus statement expresses the position of the Working Group on Evidence-Based Medicine in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, the Austrian Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Austrian Pain Society, for the treatment of low back and/or pelvic girdle pain by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) during pregnancy. Materials and Methods: The literature was reviewed followed by a subsequent interdisciplinary discussion. Results: Diagnostic investigations, therapeutic options, mode of application as well as efficacy and side effects of the method are presented. Conclusion: TENS is a safe therapy for low back and/or pelvic girdle pain in the last trimester of pregnancy with no side effects, low costs and the possibility of home application.