title: Experimental pain and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation at high frequency.
abstract: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at high frequency and high intensity caused human pain threshold elevation for thermal stimuli only when thermal stimuli were applied at a site distal to the TENS electrodes. High-frequency TENS applied over the belly of m. biceps brachii did not cause a marked misestimation of elbow angle at any of the TENS intensities used. It is concluded that pain threshold elevation during high-frequency TENS is due to peripheral electrogenic blockade or fatigue of pain-mediating fibers. A minor effect of TENS on kinesthesia suggests a minor role of muscle afferents in mediating the effects of high-frequency TENS.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000344:Afferent Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D013697:Thermosensing