Effects of Transcutaneous Nerve Electrostimulation (TENS) of Acupuncture Points on Pulmonary Function and Dyspnea Symptoms in Patients With Pulmonary Nodules

The ancient use of acupuncture as a treatment modality of traditional Chinese medicine has also been proven effective in Western medicine. The use of this treatment tool for pain control is already proven in the literature and today is considered an important adjuvant for this purpose. However, the ancient texts of acupuncture also report the use of certain points to tonify organs functions, despite of pain control. According to these texts there are some points that allow the treatment of lung diseases improving respiratory function. In order to investigate the effects of stimulation of such points using electric field application, the effect of these procedure on pulmonary function and the impact of this practice on dyspnea symptoms, the investigators will conduct a randomized study with 60 patients (1: 1 randomization) distributed in 2 arms (intervention arm-BI and control arm-BC). Transcutaneous neural stimulation of acupuncture points of the BI patients will be performed. For the BC arm the investigators will place the electrodes over the points without turn on the device to produce a placebo effect. Pulmonary function test, Borg scale application and 6 min walk test will be performed before and after the intervention in each group for subsequent data comparison.