Evidence mapPaperPMID 41238645Full record

Trial reportScientific reports2025

Effects of TENS with home exercise improve pain and muscle strength in older adults with pre-radiographic to mild knee osteoarthritis.

Natsuki Katagiri, Kotaro Kawashima, Mizuki Hamasuna, Minoru Motoyama, Tomofumi Yamaguchi

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Natsuki KatagiriDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Kotaro KawashimaDepartment of Physical Therapy, Juntendo University Graduate School of Health Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Mizuki HamasunaDepartment of Physical Therapy, Juntendo University Graduate School of Health Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Minoru MotoyamaDepartment of Physical Therapy, Juntendo University Graduate School of Health Science, Tokyo, Japan.
Tomofumi YamaguchiDepartment of Physical Therapy, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, 53 Shogoin-kawahara-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan. yamaguchi.tomofumi.3i@kyoto-u.ac.jp.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To date, no large-scale studies have been conducted on pre-radiographic to mild cases of knee osteoarthritis. Therefore, this randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled trial investigated the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) combined with home exercise in older individuals with pre-radiographic to mild knee osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade ≤ 2). A total of 126 participants experiencing knee pain were randomly assigned to the TENS (n = 64) or sham TENS group (n = 62), both combined with home exercise. The main outcome was knee pain during activity, measured via a visual analog scale (VAS). Both groups showed significantly decreased VAS scores during activity, with greater reductions in the TENS group than in the sham TENS group. Compared with the sham TENS group, the TENS group also showed significantly increased knee extensor strength in the painful knee, with no changes in the non-painful knee. No significant changes were observed in gait ability, physical activities, activities of daily living, and mental health between the groups. In conclusion, TENS combined with home exercise can reduce knee pain and increase knee extensor strength in older individuals with pre-radiographic to mild knee osteoarthritis.

Indexed as

ExerciseExercise TherapyMuscle StrengthOsteoarthritis, KneePainPain ManagementTranscutaneous Electric Nerve StimulationActivities of Daily LivingAgedDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHumansKnee JointMaleMiddle AgedPain MeasurementKnee osteoarthritisPain managementRandomized controlled trialRehabilitationTranscutaneous electrical nerve stimulation

Identifiers

PMID41238645
PMCPMC12618572

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.