Bulletin of Faculty of Physical Therapy (May 2025)

Effect of OBG-TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) on labor outcome: a randomized controlled trial

  • Sumedha V. Mane,
  • Shweta Bhatbolan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s43161-025-00291-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 30, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Background Labor pain is known to increase the risk of postpartum complications and maternal morbidity, potentially affecting maternal satisfaction and overall birth experience. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, is a well-known noninvasive, non-pharmacological treatment method that is beneficial for various types of pain, including labor pain. The effectiveness of OBG-TENS in reducing labor pain and duration remains inconclusive due to limited high-quality studies. Objective To evaluate the effects of TENS with routine physiotherapy care on labor pain intensity and duration of labor as compared to routine physiotherapy care alone. Subject and method One-hundred thirty-six women aged 21–35 with 37–41 weeks of gestational age and had a cervical dilation of at least 3 cm were persuaded to participate in the study. They were then randomly divided into two groups. Primary outcome measures included pain alleviation and labor duration, while secondary outcome measures included the impact on maternal and neonatal outcomes. Results There were no differences between the participants’ baseline characteristics in terms of age (p = 0.7748), gestational age (p = 0.3247), or cervical effacement (p = 0.3180). Numerical pain rating scores (NPRS) significantly decreased in the intervention group compared to the control group (mean difference = 5.83, p = 0.0001). The total labor duration was significantly shorter in the intervention group (4.86 h ± 3.11) compared to the control group (5.95 h ± 3.70), reflecting a reduction of approximately 1 h and 10 min with OBGT (p = 0.0676). Conclusion The findings indicate that OBG-TENS provides significant pain relief in labor and reduces the duration of first stage of labor. Trial registration Name of the registry: Clinical Trials Registry—India (CTRI). Trial registration number: CTRI/2023/10/058643. Date of registration: 13 October 2023—“Retrospectively registered”. URL of trial registry record: https://www.ctri.nic.in/ .

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