Wearable device delivers low-voltage electrical current could ease symptoms in Long COVID patients
As the world continues to fight against mutated strains of the new coronavirus, Long COVID is disrupting the daily lives of millions of people around the world. One in 13 adults in the United States has experienced Long COVID symptoms, such as pain, fatigue and reduced ability to move around, and scientists are looking for solutions to alleviate the symptoms. A research team from UCLA Health, a medical institution at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and Baylor College of Medicine is exploring the use of wearable devices as a relief for Long COVID.
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for fibromyalgia-like syndrome in patients with Long-COVID: a pilot randomized clinical trial | Scientific Reports
Wearable device provides immediate relief to long-COVID patients - Earth.com
https://www.earth.com/news/wearable-device-provides-immediate-relief-to-long-covid-patients/
In November 2024, researchers from UCLA Health and Baylor College of Medicine published a treatment in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Scientific Reports that uses a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device that delivers a low-voltage electrical current to reduce pain, fatigue, and movement disorders during long COVID.
The research team recruited 25 subjects suffering from 'chronic musculoskeletal pain,' 'fatigue,' and 'gait disturbance' as symptoms of long COVID and divided them into two groups. One group was asked to use a high-dose TENS device, and the other group was asked to use a low-dose device to examine whether it was a placebo effect. The subjects used the device for 3 to 5 hours every day for 4 weeks, and the researchers investigated how 'chronic musculoskeletal pain,' 'fatigue,' and 'gait disturbance' changed before and after use.
The results of the study showed that the group using the high-dose TENS device showed a 26.1% reduction in pain and an 8% increase in walking speed compared to the placebo group, showing significant improvements. 'The results of this study suggest that TENS devices may be useful in reducing the impact of Long COVID on daily life,' wrote Earth.com, a science media outlet.
'Wearable TENS systems have the advantage of providing immediate pain and fatigue relief and being easily integrated into daily activities,' said Dr. Bijan Najafi, research director at the Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology at UCLA Health. He also said that because wearable TENS systems are easy for users to incorporate into their daily routines, 'there was high usage' during the study period.
However, they emphasized that more research is needed, saying, 'This study gives us hope of finding an effective, non-invasive solution to manage Long COVID symptoms that continue to affect millions of people. However, due to limited sample sizes, further studies are needed to confirm these findings.'
Dr. Najaf also foresees a wide range of applications for the TENS device beyond Long COVID. 'While this study focuses on managing the pain and fatigue caused by Long COVID, it could also be used to treat other respiratory conditions, patients who have experienced prolonged hospital stays in the intensive care unit (ICU) and are debilitated after hospitalization, and other conditions that cause chronic fatigue or pain, such as
Dr. Najaf also said that further research is needed to comprehensively investigate the effectiveness of TENS devices for uses other than long COVID.
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