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The following is an abstract of clinical trials carried out under the auspices of Dr. Elon Eisenberg, head of the Pain Relief Unit at the Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel. The trials were carried out by the Pain Relief Unit, Rambam Medical Center, and by the Haifa Pain Research Group, the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
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Over a period of several months during the years 2000-2001, randomized, placebo-controlled trials were carried out to investigate the effectiveness of simultaneous administration of heat, cold and electrical stimuli in the treatment of pain. The objective of the clinical trials was to test whether the simultaneous administration of the different modalities would alter the thresholds of the sensory (algosity) and the affective (unpleasantness) dimensions of experimental pain, and whether a synergetic effect would be demonstrated, making such treatment more effective than administering any one modality independently.
180 healthy volunteers participated in the tests, which involved the treatment of mechanical pain induced by a pressure algometer applied to the tibia.
The results showed unequivocally that administration of modalities simultaneously produced a drastic synergetic effect, elevated the thresholds of algosity (from 221 mmHg at baseline to 262 mmHg following stimulation; p<0.01) and of unpleasantness (from 134±9 to 197±9 mmHg; p<0.001).
The tests were carried out using the Mediseb®
ELFcare™ system, which is the only known apparatus for applying modalities simultaneously.
In conclusion, these results indicate that simultaneous administration of modalities produces a synergetic effect, which results in an effective elevation of pain thresholds of pain.
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