INTRODUCTION: Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is one of the diseases that most affect the locomotor system and interfere significantly in activities of daily life, affecting individuals at varying ages and in different degrees and levels of joint pain. OBJECTIVES: Because of the importance of the knee joint in locomotor activity, patients with knee osteoarthritis sufferers with limitation of movement, stiffness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for the sensory processing of pain in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, using rating scales of pain. METHODS: We studied 10 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee, using a modality physiotherapy, electrotherapy, specifically (TENS), with parameters of 80 Hz and 140 µs, with a total of 10 sessions, 30 minutes for each session, the period Total treatment included 4 weeks in total of 10 sessions, each patient was interviewed with a questionnaire in the first session, on the 5th and 10th session. The forms used were the McGill Pain Questionnaire - Melzack, visual analogue pain scale, numerical scale with facial expression of pain. RESULTS: The result with TENS for the effect of sensory analgesia shows that the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05) for visual analogue pain scale and McGill Pain Questionnaire. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that sensory TENS reduces pain and improves knee function.
Osteoarthritis; Knee; Pain; TENS; Physiotherapy
