AAN Guideline: TENS Not Effective for Chronic Low-Back Pain

A new guideline issued by the AAN finds that transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS), a widely used pain therapy involving a portable device, is not recommended to treat chronic low-back pain pain that has persisted for 3 months or longer because research shows it is not effective. The guideline is published in the December 30 online issue of Neurology®.

The guideline also determined that TENS can be effective in treating diabetic nerve pain, also called diabetic neuropathy, but more and better research is needed to compare TENS to other treatments for this type of pain.

AANEM Endorses AAN Guidelines on ALS

The AAN announced the publication of two new evidence-based guidelines on caring for patients with ALS today. The AANEM endorsed both documents in advance of their publication in the journal Neurology. 

The first guideline addresses drug, nutritional, and respiratory therapies. The second guideline examines the benefits of multidisciplinary care, symptom management, and cognitive/behavioral impairment.  Additional resources, including two clinician summaries, two patient summaries, a slide presentation, a clinical example, and a podcast, were also created for the guidelines