The effect of TENS on early postoperative patient outcomes following total knee replacement

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on early postoperative patient outcomes following total knee arthroplasty. Designed as a randomized controlled intervention trial, the sample consisted of 44 patients (TENS group n=22, control group n=22) who were hospitalized in the Orthopedics and Traumatology Department of Adana City Training and Research Hospital between November 2024 and July 2025 and met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using a Personal Information Form and the Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire (APS-POQ-R). Ethical approval was obtained from the Non-Interventional Clinical Ethics Committee of Çukurova University. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Pearson's chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. According to the findings, the mean age was 69.68±6.49 in the TENS group and 65.36±8.67 in the control group; 81.28% of the TENS group and 90.9% of the control group were female. Based on APS-POQ-R data, statistically significant and favorable results were observed in the TENS group regarding pain intensity, nausea, vomiting, sleep quality, anxiety, fear, hopelessness levels, and satisfaction with pain management (p<0.05). In both groups, prayer and cold application were identified as preferred non-pharmacological analgesic methods. These findings indicate that TENS is an effective method for postoperative pain management in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, reducing complications and enhancing patient satisfaction.