INTRODUCTION: Pain is a multidimensional phenomenon that hampers the development of daily activities. The application of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is among one of the most widely used to treat pain. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether acupunctural TENS (low frequency) influences the acute pain produced by local hypothermia in healthy subjects, when the electrodes are located on acupoints TA5 and CS6 and in placebo application. METHODS:Thirty-two volunteers, both male and female, were randomly allocated to TENS groups and sham. The study consisted of three phases: hypothermia without TENS analgesia, hypothermia with TENS analgesia or placebo, and hypothermia post-TENS analgesia or placebo, to evaluate the effect of TENS and placebo in the latency of pain threshold and pain intensity. RESULTS: The results show that the latency of pain threshold significantly increased when compared to the moments before and after use of TENS, while the placebo group showed no significant difference between its cycles of experimentation. Pain intensity was not affected by TENS and placebo. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that TENS acupunctural applied over the area of acupoints TA5 and CS6 is effective in increasing the latency of pain threshold, but does not interfere in pain intensity.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation; Acupuncture points; Local induced hypothermia; Pain
