Gender response to 10 weeks acupuncture-TENS application on patients who presented with post-injection sciatic pain

Abstract

Abstract Background Studies to determine gender response to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) application on individuals who presented with post-injection sciatic pain (PISP) following gluteal injection is not common. A total of 40 subjects comprising 20 males and 20 females who were purposively recruited and conveniently assigned to group A (male) and group B (female) completed the study. Acupuncture-like TENS (AL-TENS) was applied on the 20 male and 20 female subjects, 1 h per session, 3 times per week for the 10 weeks the study lasted. Result The pre-intervention baseline scores for the two groups were 8.80 + 1.05 (Female) and 8.60 + 1.27 (Male). The result revealed that after 10 weeks of intervention the VAS scores were 2.60+ 3.28 (p < 0.001) and 2.40 + 3.28 (p < 0.001) for the female and male subjects, respectively. The mean comparison of the female mean VAS scores (2.60 + 3.28) and male VAS scores 2.40 + 3.25 after 10 weeks of AL-TENS intervention shows no statistically significant difference (p > 0.85) in pain intensity (pain perception). Conclusions There was no gender variation in pain perception in subjects with post-injection sciatic pain (PISP) following gluteal muscle injection after 10 weeks of AL-TENS application. Therefore, gender-based variation should not be considered when applying AL-TENS as an instrument of intervention in subjects with PISP. Trial registration PACTR2018050034082