Background:

Recent studies report that patients with chronic pain, they undergo changes in the processing of information that reaches them from the periphery with the mere fact of changing the order in which the stimuli are exercised, for example, when their hands are crossed. In patients with chronic pain, the presence of alterations in their somatotropic frames of reference has been demonstrated, and this is why the strategy of crossing the extremities through the midline could generate changes in the perception of pain.

Objective:

To evaluate if an analgesic physiotherapy program with hand crossing technique is more effective than a program without crossing hands, in order to reduce pain.

Material and method:

Sixteen patients with chronic pain in elbow, wrist or hand, were randomized in two groups. One received transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) with hand crossing and closed eyes, and the other (control group) received only the application of TENS. Each group was evaluated before and after the intervention with the McGill pain questionnaire and the visual analog scale (VAS).

Results:

A decrease in post-intervention pain was observed in both groups; where the control group decreased an average of 3.5 cm and the experimental group 3.75 cm. All sessions of the experimental group were statistically significant (P = <0.05), while one session in the control group was not statistically significant (P = 0.051). However, the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) between both groups, did not give statistically significant (p = 0.863).

Conclusions:

The results do not show that the crossing of hands potentiates the effects of analgesic therapy on pain intensity. More information is the effects to include this technique as a support strategy in patients with chronic pain, and to manage sensory alterations and changes in the processing of information that reaches the periphery.

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