ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Wound complications and pharmacological pain relief methods used at the skin surgical site after cesarean delivery may result in women’s physical and emotional burden. Thus, nonpharmacological treatments must be explored to avoid these complications and side effects on maternal health. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of Combined Ultrasound and Electric Field Stimulation (CUSEFS) on cicatricial pain and functional capacity in immediate cesarean delivery.
METHODS:
This study has a randomized clinical trial, double-blind, and placebo-controlled design. Thirty women (25.7±5.0 years) in immediate postpartum were randomly assigned to three groups: Control (CG, n:9), CUSEFS (TG, n:11), and Placebo (PG, n:10). CUSEFS was performed once for 20 minutes. Cicatricial pain (McGill Pain Questionnaire) and functional capacity (Functional Capacity Check) was assessed at baseline, after the intervention, and after 30 minutes. Cohen’s (d) and Mixed-design analysis of variance were used to compare groups.
RESULTS:
Immediately after the intervention, TG showed a decrease in cicatricial pain compared with CG in sensory (d:3.8 to 4.0), affective (d:4.0), and total categories (d:3.9). In functional capacity, TG had less difficulty than CG at walking (d:0.6) and lying down (d:1.1), and PG at rest (d: 0.9).
CONCLUSION:
CUSEFS might be a resource for managing cicatricial pain and functional capacity in immediate cesarean delivery. Further studies with longer duration and different CUSEFS doses/parameters are required.
Keywords:
Cesarean section; Combined modality therapy; Electric stimulation therapy; Pain; Ultrasonic therapy
HIGHLIGHTS
Combined Ultrasound and Electric Field Stimulation (CUSEFS) might be a resource in immediate cesarean delivery
CUSEFS was successful for managing cicatricial pain in immediate cesarean delivery
CUSEFS was effective in improving functional capacity in immediate cesarean delivery