الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The potential of tVNS is not limited to the treatment of depression and epilepsy, with the technology being investigated for a variety of disorders including headache, tinnitus, inflammatory conditions and pain. In this randomized, sham-controlled trial, the electrode was placed in the left cymba concha to stimulate the afferents of the auricular branch of vagus nerve using a t-VNS device (TENS 7000TM). The stimulation period for both groups was 30 minutes once a day for 3 days per week for 12 weeks. The amplitude of the output current was between 0.25-2.0 mA as tolerated and 250 µs width at 25 Hz. We examined the effects of tVNS on knee OA, in the context of nociceptive pain, QST, physical function, neuropathic pain, depression, anxiety, and central sensitization. We demonstrated 3 major findings; first, tVNS improve all these parameters in active tVNS and this improvement was maintained 4 weeks after the end of the 3 months treatment period. Although in sham tVNS, VAS score was improved and maintained till the end of the follow up period, PPT right knee, pain detect questionnaire, CST, depression, anxiety, and CSI showed an |