Effectiveness of Ultrasound and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation in Postnatal Painful Breast Engorgement: A Comparative Study

Introduction Breast engorgement is a normal biological process that typically occurs within the first 3 to 5 days of postpartum. About 20 % postnatal mothers are affected with breast engorgement. Conventional therapy currently available for this problem are therapeutic massage, application of cold and hot packs, breast squeeze, administration of analgesics and use of binders. Objectives To study effectiveness of ultrasound in postnatal painful breast engorgement. To study effectiveness of TENS in postnatal painful breast engorgement. To compare effectiveness of ultrasound and TENS in postnatal painful breast engorgement. Methods Subjects between the age of 18-35 years diagnosed with breast engorgement of Krishna hospital, Karad were selected for the study. Study was conducted on 30 subjects. Subjects were divided into two groups. Pre consent was taken from each participant. The subjects were divided into group A (TENS with conventional treatment) and group B (Ultrasound with conventional treatment). The interventions were carried out twice a day for 2 days. The outcome measures for the study were subjective which includes VAS scale, 6-point self-rated breast engorgement scale and Wong bakers faces pain rating scale. Results The data was statistically analysed using INSTAT software. The present study provide the evidence for the use of TENS and ultrasound along with conventional treatment including hot moist packs and therapeutic massage in the management of pain and tenderness and improving the lactation in painful breast engorgement.