SynthesisMediators of inflammation2018
Effects of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation on Proinflammatory Cytokines: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Synthesis in Mediators of inflammation, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Systematic review of the effectiveness of self-initiated interventions to decrease pain and sensory disturbances associated with peripheral neuropathy.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of core stability exercises and Russian electrical stimulation on nonspecific low back pain: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Influence of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation on postoperative catheter-related bladder discomfort in urology: a prospective randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Effect of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on pain, edema, and trismus after surgical removal of impacted third molars: a split-mouth randomized clinical trial.Medicina oral, patologia oral y cirugia bucal · 2024Trial
- Effect of Regular Electrotherapy on Spinal Flexibility and Pain Sensitivity in Patients with Chronic Non-Specific Neck Pain and Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Double-Blinded Pilot Trial.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Trial
- Adjunctive Interferential Electrotherapy Provides Transient Postoperative Analgesia After Hemilaminectomy in Dogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Efficacy and mechanisms of low-frequency TENS for common multimorbidity in older adults: protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Enhanced Synovial Fluid Rheology in Moderate Knee Osteoarthritis Through Combined Intra-Articular Hyaluronic Acid and Multimodal Physiotherapy: A Monocentric Observational Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Enhancing Bone-Cartilage Interface Healing in Osteochondral Autograft Transplantation: Effects of BMAC Augmentation and Rehabilitation Protocols.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Recovery and Protective Effect of Direct Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in the Treatment of Acute and Subacute Fibular Tunnel Syndrome.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Spatial Distribution Dynamics of Sensory Disturbances in the Treatment of Obesity-Related Meralgia Paresthetica Using Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Comparative effects of recovery strategies on exercise-induced muscle fatigue:a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- A New Approach to Postoperative Rehabilitation following Mosaicplasty and Bone Marrow Aspiration Concentrate (BMAC) Augmentation.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Functional Recovery and Regenerative Effects of Direct Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Treatment of Post-COVID-19 Guillain-Barré and Acute Transverse Myelitis Overlap Syndrome: A Clinical Case.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2024Article
- Can Combining Hyaluronic Acid and Physiotherapy in Knee Osteoarthritis Improve the Physicochemical Properties of Synovial Fluid?Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Article
- Research Status and Prospects of Acupuncture in Perioperative Medicine Over the Past Decade: A Bibliometric Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2023Review
- Reduction on Proinflammatory Cytokines after Application of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) in Patients with a Breast Cancer: A Nonrandomized, Open, and Single-Arm Study Protocol with Paired Analysis.Mediators of inflammation · 2022Article
- Role of Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation in Pain and Pulmonary Function in Patients after Bariatric Surgery.Rehabilitation research and practice · 2022Article
- Resolving Long-Standing Uncertainty about the Clinical Efficacy of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) to Relieve Pain: A Comprehensive Review of Factors Influencing Outcome.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The mechanism of pain reduction involves bidirectional processes of pain blocking (nociception) and reductions in the levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the blood. Does transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) reduce blood levels of proinflammatory cytokines? For this systematic review, we searched in six databases to identify randomized controlled trials with the criteria: humans older than 18 years (adults), use of TENS in the experimental group, and having at least one pre- and postintervention blood level of at least one proinflammatory cytokine. The risk of bias and the level of evidence were assessed. Five studies were included involving 240 participants. The heterogeneity of the studies was high (
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.