When people with a nerve disease called NMOSD used TENS machines for pain, both those who got real treatment and those who got fake treatment felt less pain. This tells us that just thinking you're getting treatment can actually help reduce pain.

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Pro

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Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (1)

73

Community contributions welcome

73

A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation device for the relief of neuropathic pain in NMOSD: A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial

Randomized Controlled Trial

Human

2024 Oct-Dec

The study found that both patients who got real TENS and those who got fake TENS felt less pain, suggesting the improvement came partly from believing the treatment works rather than from the treatment itself.

Contradicting (0)

0

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No contradicting evidence found

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation device for the relief of neuropathic pain in NMOSD: A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial

Score: 73

DOI: 10.1177/20552173241301018

Similar Assertions

A study found that using a TENS machine for nerve pain doesn't work any better than using a fake (sham) TENS machine - the pain relief was basically the same after 4 weeks.

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90%

A study found that people with a nerve disease called NMOSD who have pain felt less pain after using either a real TENS machine or a fake one for 4 weeks. The real TENS reduced pain by about 2.2 points on a 0-10 scale, while the fake one reduced pain by about 1.3 points.

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71%