Different types of electrostimulation target specific impaired sensory and motor functions in chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: a secondary analysis of a controlled trial

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>We performed a secondary data analysis of a previously published study to investigate the effects of different electrical stimulation modalities on specific impaired sensory and motor functions.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p> A total of 51 patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) ≥ grade 1 after receiving platinum- and/or taxane-based chemotherapy were randomized to 8 weeks of high-tone external muscle stimulation (HTEMS) or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). A control group ( <jats:italic>n</jats:italic>  = 17) receiving no intervention was recruited retrospectively. Patients received 8 weeks of home-based electrotherapy for at least 5 days a week, for 30 min per day, using either a TENS or HTEMS device. In the original study, changes in the EORTC-QLQ-CIPN20 questionnaire were measured before and after the intervention. For this secondary data analysis, we performed sub-analyses to examine the specific effects of TENS and HTEMS on the individual sensory and motor scale outcomes of the EORTC-QLQ-CIPN20 questionnaire. </jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p> For sensory function categories, HTEMS significantly improved tingling in the fingers or hands ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>  = 0.009) and the numbness in the toes or feet ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>  = 0.018). TENS tended to reduce shooting or burning pain in the toes or feet ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>  = 0.051). TENS also demonstrated a trend to improve problems in standing or walking due to difficulties in feeling the ground ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>  = 0.051), while improvements after HTEMS reached significance ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>  = 0.045). For motor function categories, TENS improved difficulties opening a bottle due to weakness ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>  = 0.036), and HTEMS reduced difficulties in walking due to downward dropping of the feet ( <jats:italic>p</jats:italic>  = 0.015). There were no changes for any category in the control group. </jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title> <jats:p>Electrotherapy is a useful tool for treating CIPN. A symptom-oriented selection of the stimulation modality may be promising.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Clinical trial registration</jats:title> <jats:p> <jats:ext-link>https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03978585</jats:ext-link> </jats:p> </jats:sec>