BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and cryotherapy are physical therapy resources individually used, since there is the possibility of interaction between TENS and cryotherapy if they are associated. This study aimed at evaluating the analgesic effectiveness of the association or not of TENS and cryotherapy to relieve chronic low back pain. METHOD: Clinical trial involving six chronic low back pain patients distributed in three groups: cryotherapy, TENS, and the association of both techniques. Analgesia was induced for 20 minutes during 5 days, with one session per day. All patients were submitted to conventional kinesiotherapy with ischiotibial, lumbar square and iliopsoas elongation, aiming at increasing adherence to treatment. Cryotherapy was applied with crushed ice bag and TENS was in burst with Physiotonus TENS/FES 3050 equipment of the BIOSET brand, with pulse trains of 2 Hz, individual pulse frequencies of 100 Hz and pulse duration of 150 µs. Pain intensity was evaluated by the visual analog scale before and after each session. RESULTS: With regard to pain intensity in the cryotherapy group, initial and final medians were 5.5 and 4, respectively. For the TENS and TENS associated to cryotherapy groups they were 5 and 3, respectively. With regard to pain relief, 100% have referred good relief in the TENS group; in cryotherapy and TENS associated to cryotherapy groups 50% have referred good relief and 50% very good relief. CONCLUSION: Although the combined therapy has caused no significant improvement as compared to isolated therapies the three analgesic modalities used in this study were effective to relieve chronic low back pain. Satisfaction was higher in the cryotherapy group as compared to the TENS group.
Cryotherapy; Low back pain; Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation
