Effectiveness of aquatic therapy interventions in the management of children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review
pain reduction when the TENS was used between visits (p<0.05) especially at certain frequencies and durations. Participants with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury or CP were most likely to experience a decrease in pain from TENS (p<0.05) and pain decreased across all pain locations (with the exception of the neck, p<0.05) A majority of patients reported using their TENS units on and off for many years since the units were issued. Conclusions/Significance: When used appropriately, TENS may be a safe, appropriate, cost effective modality for patients with many diagnoses. It is important to always instruct patients in detailed use of TENS including frequency, duration, precautions, intensity and wave form use and to obtain pre and post TENS pain ratings in order to determine efficacy of TENS use. It may be ideal to make a DVD of exact use of TENS and/or to have follow up training sessions of its use to help to increase efficacy. More research is needed in this topic. A prospective assessment of TENS use in these populations must be conducted to confirm the trends depicted in this analysis.