EVALUATING THE EFFICACY OF TRANSCUTANEOUS ELECTRICAL NERVE STIMULATION IN ALLEVIATING POSTOPERATIVE INCISIONAL PAIN CAUSED BY SPECIFIC SURGICAL INCISIONS FOLLOWING ABDOMINAL SURGERY: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Abstract

Background: Abdominal surgery incision site pain reduces lung function and increases pain. Abdominal surgery-induced respiratory muscle dysfunction increases postoperative difficulties, morbidity, and hospital stay. After surgery, the impact of pain on pulmonary function and the effectiveness of physical therapy using various types of TENS, such as low and high TENS, are still unclear. This study examined the efficacy of several types of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) for abdominal surgery postoperative pain.
Methodology: This comparative study randomly assigned 114 abdominal surgery patients allotted three groups (32 per group) to receive low TENS, high TENS, or control for 30 minutes a day from the 8th post-operative day to the end of the 4th week from the population group satisfying the inclusion criteria from the Department of Surgery and Department of Physical Medicine &Rehabilitation, Government Medical College & Hospital, Annamalai Nagar, Chidambaram, Cuddalore D. The study included randomly selected male and female adults aged 21-50 with abdominal surgery and post-abdominal incisional pain, NPRS pain score above 4, and TENS treatments. Group A and B received standard physiotherapy care, while Group C received standard medical and nursing care. In the 8th and 4th weeks after surgery, NPRS, FEV1, and FVC are measured.
Results: A total of 96 participants were recruited for this study, with an average age of 36.7 years and a standard deviation of 7.9. Out of the total, there were 52 males and 44 females. There was a statistically significant difference in pain scores between the groups during the study (P < 0.001). The TENS groups experienced notable decreases in postoperative pain in comparison to the control group (P<0.001). The TENS groups showed a notable enhancement in pulmonary functions, namely in FVC and FEV1. However, there was no significant change observed in the control groups (P>0.001). When comparing Low TENS to both High TENS and the Control group in terms of pain relief, there was a significant and more rapid improvement in reducing pain (P< 0.001). None of the subjects reported any negative effects for the entire duration of the study.
Conclusion: The current Comparative investigation found that all groups reduced post-abdominal incision pain and pulmonary impairment. High TENS reduced abdominal surgical incision pain faster than low TENS and control. TENS helps abdominal surgery patients reduce postoperative discomfort and improve FEV1 and FVC