Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2025
Neurobiological Mechanisms of Enhanced Pain-Relieving Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation via Visuo-Tactile Stimulation in Immersive Virtual Reality: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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5 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundEnhancing the effectiveness of current pain relief strategies is a persistent clinical challenge. Although transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is used in various painful conditions, its effectiveness may decline over time, requiring additional pain management strategies. Immersive virtual reality (VR) with personalized visuo-tactile stimulation has demonstrated analgesic properties. Nevertheless, whether visuo-tactile stimulation can enhance the pain-relieving outcomes of TENS and its underlying neurophysiological mechanisms remains largely unknown.
objectiveThe study aims to investigate whether the integration of visuo-tactile stimulation with TENS can enhance the pain-relieving outcomes of TENS alone, and we also aim to explore the brain mechanisms underlying the analgesic effect of this integrated intervention.
methodsIn this study, 75 healthy participants were enrolled and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: congruent TENS-VR (TENS-ConVR) and 2 control groups (incongruent TENS-VR [TENS-InVR] and TENS alone). In the context of TENS-ConVR, we combined TENS and VR by connecting TENS-induced paresthesia with personalized visual bodily feedback. The visual feedback was designed to align with the spatiotemporal patterns of the paresthesia induced by TENS. A pain rating task and a 32-channel electroencephalography were applied.
resultsTwo-way ANOVAs showed that TENS-ConVR exhibited a statistically greater reduction in pain rating (F
conclusionsThis study observed that combining TENS and visual stimulation in a single solution could enhance the pain-relieving effect of TENS, which has the potential to improve the effectiveness of current pain management treatments.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2500098834; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojEN.html?proj=254171.
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