Barbara Rakel joined the University of Iowa College of Nursing in 2005 after serving
as a Research Nurse Specialist and Advanced Practice Nurse at the University of Iowa
Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) for over 15 years, during which time she promoted research
and evidence-based practice within and outside the Department of Nursing. 

Dr. Rakel's program of research focuses on pain management in older adults,
examining non-pharmacologic strategies to address movement-evoked pain and promote
function in elders. She was a John A. Hartford Building Academic Geriatric Nursing
Capacity Postdoctoral Fellow from 2003-2005. In 2007 she received two R-series grants
from the National Institute of Nursing Research to test the effect of Transcutaneous
Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) on pain, hyperalgesia, and function in older adults
with osteoarthritis and post total knee replacement. She was the recipient of the Harriet
H. Werley New Investigator Award in 2008 from the Midwest Nursing Research Society. 

Dr. Rakel's primary area of nursing practice has been in the acute care setting,
including cardiothoracic and vascular surgery. She was UIHC's first Cardiothoracic
Transplant Coordinator when the program began in 1984. 

PhD, The University of Iowa College of Nursing MA, The University of Iowa College of
Nursing BSN, The University of Iowa College of Nursing

Articles

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Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on pain, pain sensitivity, and function in patients with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized controlled trial (with C. G. Vance, N. P. Blodgett, J. M. de Santana, A. Amendola, M. B. Zimmerman, D. M. Walsh, and K. A. Sluka), Physical Therapy (2012)

Background and Objective:Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is commonly used for treatment of pain; however...

 

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Women with knee osteoarthritis have more pain and poorer function than men, but similar physical activity prior to total knee replacement (with S. M. Tonelli, N. A. Cooper, W. L. Angstom, and K. A. Sluka), Biology of Sex Differences (2011)

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis of the knee is a major clinical problem affecting a greater proportion...

 

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Adjusting pulse amplitude during transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) application produces greater hypoalgesia (with M. A. Pantaleao, M. F. Laurino, N. L. Gallego, C. M. Cabral, C. Vance, K. A. Sluka, D. M. Walsh, and R. E. Liebano), The Journal of Pain (2011)

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a noninvasive technique used for pain modulation. During application...

 

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Hypoalgesia in response to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) depends on stimulation intensity (with F. Moran, T. Leonard, S. Hawthorne, C. M. Hughes, E. McCrum-Gardner, M. I. Johnson, K. A. Sluka, and D. M. Walsh), The Journal of Pain (2011)

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is an electrophysical modality used for pain management. This study...

 

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An investigation of the development of analgesic tolerance to TENS in humans (with R. E. Liebano, C. G. Vance, D. M. Walsh, and K. A. Sluka), Pain (2011)

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a noninvasive modality used to control pain. Animal models...

 

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