Analgesic effect of pulsed electromagnetic therapy in post-infectious neuralgia

BACKGROUND: Chronic post-infectious neuropathic pain is a frequent complication of herpesvirus infections, with post-herpetic neuralgia often affecting the roots of the sciatic nerve.

AIM: To compare the analgesic effects of pulsed electromagnetic therapy with standard treatment in patients with post-herpetic neuralgia of the sciatic nerve.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted with 46 patients (18 men and 28 women) who were randomly assigned to two groups. Both groups received traditional physiotherapy treatment. The first group underwent additional pulsed electromagnetic therapy, while the second group received standard rehabilitation. Pulsed electromagnetic therapy sessions were conducted once daily, three times a week, for 20 minutes over eight consecutive weeks. Pain intensity was evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and daily analgesic dosage was measured before and after the intervention.

RESULTS: Both groups demonstrated a significant reduction in VAS scores and daily analgesic dosages compared to baseline (p <0.001). In the first group, the percentage reduction in VAS scores and daily analgesic dosages was 78.3 and 72.5%, respectively, compared to 63.1 and 65.9% in the second group. A statistically significant difference in VAS scores was observed between the groups (p <0.05), while the difference in daily analgesic dosages did not reach statistical significance (p >0.05).

CONCLUSION: Pulsed electromagnetic therapy significantly improves pain intensity in patients with post-herpetic neuralgia of the sciatic nerve, as evidenced by reductions in VAS scores. While changes in daily analgesic dosage suggest a trend toward a stronger analgesic effect of the therapy, this difference was not statistically significant.