Shockingly simple: TENS device may cut opioid use after broken bone surgery
NCT ID NCT04209673
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested whether a TENS unit, a small device that sends gentle electrical pulses to the skin, can help manage pain after surgery for broken leg bones. 205 adults who had surgery for fractures of the thigh, shin, or ankle were followed for a year. Researchers measured how much opioid pain medicine they used and how they rated their pain and daily function.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
-
205 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
-
Jan 2020
- Finished
-
Jun 2025
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
This will be a prospective observational study of patients undergoing operative treatment of lower extremity conditions, including fracture fixation, treatment of nonunion, and deformity correction. The study will be conducted at a single Level I trauma center. Enrolled patients will receive TENS postoperatively during hospitalization; TENS units will also be sent home with patients for use throughout recovery. This group will be compared to controls injury-matched from a prospectively collected, historical database on mobility who did not receive treatment with TENS.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Operative treatment of lower extremity conditions, including fracture fixation, treatment of nonunion, and deformity correction * Injury or deformity of the femur, tibia (plateau, shaft, pilon), or hindfoot and ankle * Isolated injury * Age 18 years or older * Able to provide consent Exclusion Criteria: * • Unable to provide consent (no use of LAR)
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Musculoskeletal pain are added.
Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Carolinas Medical Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Charlotte, North Carolina, 28204, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Desk jobs and aching bodies: what Lawyers' activity levels reveal
- Can magnetic brain zaps ease the pain of a sleepless body?
- Can poor sleep make you hurt more? study probes Insomnia's link to pain
- Can a light bulb dial down chronic pain?
- Does soreness after exercise disrupt sleep more for people with insomnia?
- Your phone might know your pain better than you do