Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) in people with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effects of Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on pain, function, walking ability and stiffness in people with Knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), clinicaltrials.gov and Web of Science (last search November 2021) for randomized controlled trials. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used for the included studies, and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) was used to interpret the certainty of results. Standardized Mean Differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for meta-analysis. Results: Twenty-nine studies were found (1398 people, age range 54-85, 74% are female) and fourteen were included in this review. Intervention duration was divided as short term (immediately after intervention), medium term (