Research trends of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in pain management from 2015 to 2024: A bibliometric and visualization analysis

BACKGROUND: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a widely used nonpharmacological neuromodulation therapy for pain management. Although research in this field has expanded substantially, its global research landscape, knowledge structure, and emerging trends have not been systematically evaluated. This study aimed to comprehensively characterize the development of TENS research for pain management using bibliometric and visualization analyses. METHODS: Publications on TENS for pain management published between 2015 and 2024 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Bibliometric analyses of countries, institutions, authors, journals, cited references, and keywords were performed using VOSviewer (version 1.6.18) and CiteSpace (version 6.4.R1). RESULTS: A total of 968 publications were included. Annual scientific output showed an overall upward trend, reaching its highest level in 2024. The United States was the leading contributor in publication output and total citations, whereas England demonstrated the greatest citation impact. The University of Iowa was the most productive institution, whereas Sluka, Kathleen A. was the most influential author. Keyword co-occurrence, reference clustering, and burst analyses indicated that research has evolved from evaluating analgesic efficacy toward disease-specific applications, methodological optimization, mechanistic exploration, multidimensional outcome assessment, and combination therapies. Emerging topics included phantom limb pain, labor pain, preventive applications, and evidence synthesis. CONCLUSION: Research on TENS for pain management has grown steadily over the past decade, with increasing emphasis on methodological rigor and diversified clinical applications. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the field and offers valuable insights to guide future research and evidence-based clinical practice.