Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is commonly used to treat the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. The effectiveness of this type of stimulation for pain relief, however, remains controversial. This systematic review was undertaken to determine the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The review found statistically significant results for pain relief at rest and clinical benefit for muscle power and pain relief at rest for acupuncture-like nerve stimulation compared with placebo. Conventional nerve stimulation showed statistically significant benefit over placebo for tenderness intensity and clinical benefit over acupuncture-like nerve stimulation for patient assessment of disease. The reviewers concluded that both conventional and acupuncture-like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation have either statistically or clinically significant benefit over placebo for some aspects of rheumatoid arthritis-associated disability, and can be used as an adjunct therapy for patients with the disease in the treatment of arthritic hands.

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