A questionnaire survey on the attitudes, beliefs and self-reported use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) by physiotherapists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Objectives: The aim of this questionnaire survey was to gather information about the attitudes, beliefs and self - reported use of TENS for pain by physiotherapists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Design: A cross-sectional paper-based questionnaire survey.
Setting: Physiotherapy staff and student interns working at five clinics of government hospitals in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Respondents: 110 physiotherapists received the questionnaire and 58 were completed (response rate = 52.72%).
Main outcome measures: The questionnaire comprised 45 items on beliefs about TENS and clinical experience of using TENS in practice including TENS techniques.
Results: All five clinics offered TENS treatment administered by the therapist and only during clinic visits. Fifty -seven of the 58 respondents (98.3%) reported that they treated pain as part of their current clinical workload and believed that TENS was beneficial to relieve pain. Thirty -three respondents (57%) used TENS in clinical practice to relieve pain associated with musculoskeletal/orthopaedic conditions and used TENS to manage pain only in combination with other treatments. Respondents who used TENS in clinical practice also reported that treatment was administered in clinic for 10 - 29 minutes, on average, to generate a strong TENS sensation at the site of pain with electrodes placed over the site of pain (32 respondents, 97%). Seventeen of the 33 respondents (52%) reported that they, on average administered more than 4 TENS treatments per week per patient and 32 respondents (97%) reported that they did not advise patients to self -administer TENS treatment to manage pain unsupervised at home.
Conclusions : Physiotherapists in Saudi Arabia use TENS techniques that match good practice guidelines, although there is a need to develop service delivery systems and resources to train patients to self -administer TENS at home rather than having to visit clinics. The st udy revealed a need for educational programmes aimed at updating knowledge and skills about TENS in Saudi Arabia.