Discussion
pain
COLD
This study compared the effects of cold compress, TENS, and combined cold compress-TENS on CTR-associated pain among patients with cardiac surgery. Study findings indicated that while there was no significant difference among the groups respecting the pretest mean score of pain intensity, the variations of the mean score of pain intensity across the four measurement time points in all four groups were statistically significant. The amount of pain reduction in all three intervention groups was significantly greater than the placebo group and the combination of cold compress and TENS was more effective than both cold compress and TENS in reducing pain intensity.Findings showed that before CTR, the intensity of CTR-associated pain was mild (range: 0–0.03). This is in line with the findings of former studies [We also found that pain intensity at 15 min after CTR in the compress-TENS group was significantly less than both cold compress and TENS groups. Similarly, two former studies reported that after CTR for 15 min, CTR-associated pain in the cold compress group was significantly less than the control group (Mazloom, Demir). Contrary to our findings, a study showed that cold compress had no significant effects on CTR-associated pain [Our findings also showed that although cold compress, TENS, and combined cold compress-TENS were effective in significantly reducing CTR-associated pain, the effects of combined cold compress-TENS were significantly greater than both cold compress and TENS. Combined methods are more effective than separate methods in reducing pain [