For long period, the Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) has been used as a treatment to reduce pain both acute and chronic.
Despite controversy how effectiveness of this treatment due to reducing the pain, some companies manufactured it to include chronic low back pain treatment.

But actually this treatment has no effective to reduce chronic low back pain.

Recent study based on evidence review by American Academy of Neurology showed there is no connection to reduce the pain in patient with chronic low back pain with TENS, and they advised to the physician not to order this treatment for patient with chronic low back pain due to no proven result for such pain treatment.

The report released online by academy’s Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee on December 30, 2009 by Richard M. Dubinsky, MD, MPH from Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas city, and Janis Miyasaki, MD, MEd, from Toronto Western Hospital, Ontario, Canada.

The data based on carried out the systematic literature of Medicine and Cochrane Library up to April 2009 with clinical trial controlling by TENS due to reducing the pain associated with neurological conditions.

What the conclusion their founded in this study?

- TENS has lack of proven efficacy for chronic low back pain and not recommended to use it.

- TENS should be considered for painful diabetic neuropathy treatment.

Andreas Binder, MD and Ralf Baron MD from the Division of Neurological Pain Research and Therapy in the Department of Neurology at Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Germany, accompanying editorial said, “This updated evidence-based review is valuable in providing the limits of our evidence base. Nevertheless, it is not unreasonable to take a practical position that, in spite of the relatively weak scientific and clinical evidence, TENS still represent a valuable therapeutic alternative in neurologic pain disorder.”