Trial reportBMJ open2021
Maintenance of physical activity level, functioning and health after non-pharmacological treatment of pelvic girdle pain with either transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation or acupuncture: a randomised controlled trial.
Trial report in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Article
- Individually tailored physiotherapy interventions for pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain: functioning, physical activity, and treatment satisfaction four months postpartum. A cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Stimulating discussion: neuromodulation for migraine in pregnancy.Current opinion in obstetrics & gynecology · 2026Article
- Neuromodulation for Headache Management in Pregnancy.Current pain and headache reports · 2025Review
- An update comprehensive review on the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for postnatal physical and psychological disorders.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Review
- Analgesic Efficacy of Acupuncture on Chronic Pelvic Pain: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate if there are differences between acupuncture and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as treatment for pelvic girdle pain (PGP) in pregnancy in order to manage pain and thus maintain health and functioning in daily activities and physical activity (PA).
designRandomised controlled trial. SETTING AND
participantsPregnant women (n=113) with clinically verified PGP in gestational weeks 12-28, recruited from maternity healthcare centres, randomised (1:1) into two groups. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: any obstetrical complication, systemic disease or previous disorder that could contradict tests or treatment.
interventionsThe intervention consisted of either 10 acupuncture sessions (two sessions per week) provided by a physiotherapist or daily home-based TENS during 5 weeks. PRIMARY OUTCOME VARIABLES: Disability (Oswestry Disability Index), functioning (Patient Specific Functional Scale), work ability (Work Ability Index) and PA-level according to general recommendations. SECONDARY OUTCOME VARIABLES: Functioning related to PGP (Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire), evening pain intensity (Numeric Rating Scale, NRS), concern about pain (NRS), health (EuroQoL 5-dimension), symptoms of depression/catastrophising (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale/Coping Strategies Questionnaire).
resultsNo mean differences were detected between the groups. Both groups managed to preserve their functioning and PA level at follow-up. This may be due to significantly (p<0.05) reduced within groups evening pain intensity; acupuncture -0.96 (95% CI -1.91 to -0.01; p=0.049), TENS -1.29 (95% CI -2.13 to -0.44; p=0.003) and concern about pain; acupuncture -1.44 (95% CI -2.31 to -0.57; p=0.0012), TENS -1.99 (95% CI -2.81 to -1.17; p<0.0001). The acupuncture group showed an improvement in functioning at follow-up; 0.82 (95% CI 0.01 to 1.63; p=0.048)
conclusionTreating PGP with acupuncture or TENS resulted in maintenance of functioning and physical activity and also less pain and concern about pain. Either intervention could be recommended as a non-pharmacological alternative for pain relief and may enable pregnant women to stay active. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: 12726. https://www.researchweb.org/is/sverige/project/127261.
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Registered trials
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