Is electrical stimulation effective in reducing neuropathic pain in patients with diabetes?

Pulsed-dose electrical stimulation is evaluated as an analgesic modality in patients-with painful diabetic neuropathy. Using a knitted silver-plated nylon/dacron stocking electrode, patients were given electrical stimulation over the course of 1 month. Pain was measured weekly, using a 10-cm. visual analog scale. Pain measurements at the end of the 4-week therapy and at 1 month after complete discontinuation of therapy were significantly lower than at the initiation of therapy. The results of this pilot study suggest that nocturnal doses of pulsed-electrical stimulation may be effective in alleviating subjective, burning, diabetic neuropathic pain in a population consisting of patients with grossly intact protective sensation, relatively good distal vascular perfusion and less than ideal glucose control. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first analytic report of pulsed-dose electrical nerve stimulation delivered through a stocking electrode for treatment of symptomatic diabetic neuropathy in medical literature.