Researchers report that the wearable TENS system offered “immediate, on-demand relief.”
A examine co-led by researchers from UCLA and Baylor College of Medicine suggests {that a} wearable system for electrical nerve stimulation could assist alleviate persistent ache and fatigue related to lengthy COVID.
Long-COVID, a fancy and lingering situation following COVID-19 restoration, impacts roughly 1 in 13 adults within the U.S. Symptoms comparable to widespread ache, fatigue, and muscle weak spot usually proceed to disrupt each day actions, together with strolling and primary duties.
The examine, printed within the peer-reviewed Nature Scientific Reports, centered on a wearable Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) system, which makes use of low-voltage electrical currents to cut back ache, fatigue, and mobility points related to lengthy COVID.
Broader Potential Applications
The venture was co-led by Dr. Bijan Najafi, analysis director of the Center for Advanced Surgical & Interventional Technology at UCLA Health and co-director of NSF IUCRC Center to Stream HealthCare in Place (C2SHIP), who stated the system might have wider functions.
“While this study focused on managing pain and fatigue caused by long COVID, it may also have potential applications for addressing similar symptoms in individuals with other respiratory diseases, those who have experienced extended ICU stays and developed post-hospitalization weaknesses, and conditions involving chronic fatigue and pain, such as fibromyalgia or chemotherapy-related side effects,” Najafi stated. “But further studies are needed to confirm these potential uses.”
In the examine, 25 individuals with continual musculoskeletal ache, fatigue, and gait difficulties had been assigned both a high-dose (energetic) TENS system or a low-dose (placebo) system. Both teams used the TENS system for 3 to 5 hours each day over a four-week interval.
Researchers measured individuals’ ache ranges, fatigue, and strolling efficiency earlier than and after the remedy interval. Findings indicated that the high-dose TENS group skilled notable enhancements in ache aid (26.1% extra aid in comparison with placebo) and strolling potential (8% throughout quick strolling), suggesting that wearable TENS remedy could assist scale back lengthy COVID’s influence on each day life.
The high-dose TENS group additionally reported a barely larger perceived profit (71.2%) in comparison with the low-dose group (61.4%), underscoring the potential of wearable TENS expertise to assist lengthy COVID restoration.
Importance of Wearable Technology
One issue within the examine’s success was possible the high price of each day system utilization, Najafi stated. The wearable nature of the TENS system allowed individuals to make use of it seamlessly all through the day, with out disrupting their routines.
“This wearable TENS system offered immediate, on-demand relief from pain and fatigue, making it easy to integrate into daily activities,” Najafi stated.
He additionally cautioned that extra analysis is required. This examine supplies some hope for locating an efficient, non-invasive resolution for managing lingering COVID-19 signs that proceed to have an effect on thousands and thousands,” he stated. “But our sample size was limited, so further research is needed to confirm these findings.”
Reference: “Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for fibromyalgia-like syndrome in patients with Long-COVID: a pilot randomized clinical trial” by Alejandro Zulbaran-Rojas, Rasha O. Bara, Myeounggon Lee, Miguel Bargas-Ochoa, Tina Phan, Manuel Pacheco, Areli Flores Camargo, Syed Murtaza Kazmi, Mohammad Dehghan Rouzi, Dipaben Modi, Fidaa Shaib and Bijan Najafi, 8 November 2024, Scientific Reports.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-78651-5
Study co-authors are Alejandro Zulbaran-Rojas, Rasha Bara, Myeounggon Lee, Miguel Bargas-Ochoa, Tina Phan, Manuel Pacheco, Areli Flores Camargo, Syed Murtaza Kazmi, Mohammad Dehghan Rouzi, Dipaben Modi, and Fidaa Shaib of Baylor College of Medicine.
This examine was funded by the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC), particularly from the Center to Stream HealthCare in Place (C2SHIP), with award numbers NSF 2052514 and C2SHIP Y01-BCM-008. There was additionally in-kind assist offered by Neurometrix Inc., which manufactured the Quell® TENS system.
