SCENAR Therapy in Chronic Non-specific Neck Pain

Cervicalgia, Chronic Pain, Neck Pain

Cervicalgia, SCENAR, Electrotherapy

Shifting away from a medication-centered approach is a major public health priority, particularly in chronic pain management, where non-pharmacological therapies are recommended despite barriers such as limited evidence and low prescriber awareness. SCENAR (Self-Controlled Energo-Neuro Adaptive Regulation), an electrotherapy device, lacks robust randomized controlled trial data. A prior study showed effects in both active and placebo groups after a single session, supporting further investigation. This study aims to assess whether repeated SCENAR sessions improve disability, mobility, and pain in patients with chronic neck pain.

Reducing reliance on drug-centered care has become an important public health objective, particularly in the management of chronic pain conditions, where non-pharmacological interventions are increasingly recommended as first-line or long-term strategies. However, their implementation remains limited due to several factors, including strong cultural attachment to pharmacological treatments, insufficient practitioner awareness, and the relatively weak level of clinical evidence supporting some approaches. Health authorities emphasize the need for well-designed comparative and cost-effectiveness studies to better evaluate these interventions in specific clinical contexts. Among such approaches, electrotherapy techniques, including transcutaneous electrical stimulation, have been previously assessed for the management of refractory pain, although evidence remains heterogeneous. SCENAR (Self-Controlled Energo-Neuro Adaptive Regulation) is a more recent electrotherapeutic device delivering variable electrical impulses through the skin, with proposed local effects on microcirculation and broader effects on physiological regulation systems. While some descriptive studies, mainly from non-English literature, have explored its mechanisms, high-quality randomized controlled trials are still largely lacking. Preliminary work, on chronic spinal pain, reported similar outcomes in active and sham conditions after a single session, highlighting the need for further investigation using more intensive treatment protocols. Given manufacturer recommendations suggesting multiple sessions for clinical effect and the absence of formal guidelines, further randomized evaluation is warranted. This study therefore investigates the effects of a five-session SCENAR protocol in patients with chronic cervical pain, with the hypothesis that it may reduce pain intensity, improve functional capacity, and decrease associated disability over time.

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