A Prospective Six-Month Study of Chronic Pain Sufferers: A Novel OTC Neuromodulation Therapy.
Pain Res Manag 2019;
2019:3154194. [PMID:
31687056 PMCID:
PMC6800946 DOI:
10.1155/2019/3154194]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/07/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Objective
To assess the durability of treatment over various chronic pain conditions of an emerging, nonprescription electromagnetic neuromodulation device that uses pulsed shortwave therapy.
Methods
A 6-month prospective study, involving 240 chronic pain sufferers, 94% of whom reported using pain pills and 98% reported using pain therapies prior to entering the study. Their average baseline pain was 8.2 VAS points before treatment; they had a pain duration of 6.5 years, and they were positive responders to pulsed shortwave therapy in an initial 7-day trial. Prospective assessments were obtained at intervals of 3, 4, and 6 months following a retrospective 7-day assessment. Longitudinal analyses were conducted to determine pain relief trends after the initial 7-day device use.
Results
Seven days after initial treatment, the average pain was reduced to 2.9, a 65% pain reduction for the study subjects. At the 6-month measurement, the average pain was 3.3, a 60% pain reduction from baseline. Only 17% of the subjects saw their pain level increase although this new level was still lower than baseline pain. Pain relief translated into improved quality of life and reduced medication use for the majority of the subjects. There were no significant adverse side effects reported over the 6 months of use.
Conclusion
Ninety-seven percent of the recruited subjects, all of whom had previously reported clinically significant pain relief using the 7-day PSWT device, sustained this relief for 6 months by using the device on an as-needed basis.
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