The Gentle Electric Signal That Helped Hip Surgery Patients Use LESS Painkillers (2024 Study Published in: European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences)

person Savannah Martin
calendar_today Feb 06, 2026
comment 0 comments

No drugs. No injections. Just a mild electrical signal on the skin.

That’s what surprised doctors after a hip fracture study involving 120 patients recovering from surgery.

The patients weren’t athletes.
They weren’t testing gadgets at home.
They were ordinary adults in hospital beds, recovering from broken hips.

And yet, something unexpected happened.

A Pain Problem Doctors Know Too Well

Hip fracture surgery is notorious for severe pain.

To manage it, hospitals often rely on strong opioid painkillers — drugs that can cause:

nausea
dizziness
heavy sedation
and delayed recovery

Doctors have been searching for ways to reduce pain without increasing drug use.

That’s when researchers turned to something simple — and already well known in hospitals.

The Study That Caught Attention

Researchers from Hatay Mustafa Kemal University in Turkey ran a randomised, double-blinded clinical trial.

They enrolled 120 hip fracture patients, all undergoing the same surgery and standard pain care.

Then they added one extra variable.

A mild electrical stimulation applied to the skin.

What Exactly Did They Do?

All patients received normal hospital pain treatment.

But two groups also received TENS — short for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation.

This involves:

placing small pads on the skin
delivering a gentle electrical signal
no needles, no drugs, no surgery

One group received TENS:

near major nerves in the lower back and leg

Another group received TENS:

around the surgical wound itself

Each session lasted 30 minutes, repeated regularly over 48 hours after surgery.

What Happened Next Surprised Researchers

When doctors compared the groups, clear differences appeared.

Patients who received TENS:

reported lower pain scores
needed less opioid medication
required fewer extra pain injections
experienced fewer opioid-related side effects

The biggest reduction in painkiller use was seen when TENS was applied near the lumbar and sciatic nerves.

No serious adverse effects from TENS were reported.

Why This Caught Scientific Interest

The study didn’t just ask “Does TENS work?”

It asked something more specific:

Does where you apply electrical stimulation matter after surgery?

Few clinical trials examine placement strategy so closely in real hospital patients.

That detail is what makes this study stand out.

What This Helps Scientists Understand

This research adds to growing evidence that:

pain signals can be influenced at the nerve level
non-drug techniques may reduce reliance on opioids
stimulation timing and location matter in recovery research

It does not claim cures.
It does not replace medication.
It does not apply outside the hospital setting studied.

But it gives researchers more clues about how pain pathways behave.

The Study at a Glance

Detail	Information
Patients	120 adults after hip fracture surgery
Location	Turkey (University hospital)
Method	Randomised, double-blinded trial
Intervention	TENS applied near nerves or wound
Key observation	Lower pain scores and opioid use
Unique angle	Compared stimulation placement

This table summarizes selected observations only. Full context is available in the original research paper.

Original Study Information

Title:
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for reducing postoperative acute pain after hip fracture surgery

Journal:
European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences

DOI:
DOI not publicly available at time of writing.

Original paper:
https://www.europeanreview.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2788-2796.pdf

This is a peer-reviewed, ethically approved clinical trial registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

A Bigger Question Lingers

If gentle electrical signals can change how pain is experienced after major surgery…

What else about pain are we only just beginning to understand?
Like this research digest? 👍
Share it with your friends 🧠✨
https://bit.ly/4a1vsIz

Featured Product (Contextual Mention)

Original Oriems Ultimate Kit

EMS technology trusted by over 10,000 Australians for general wellness and fitness routines.
Voted Year’s Best in 2024 and 2025 from over 68,000 nominees.

Product disclaimer:
This product is designed for general wellness and fitness purposes only.
It is not a medical device and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.