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Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation Gadgets for Pain Relief?

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mouser:
I know there are a few people who frequent DonationCoder who have back and other pain problems.. Saw this today that i thought might be interesting.  Anyone have any experience with similar devices?

TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation, and that’s basically what the device does. It uses a set of electrodes attached to the skin that deliver up to 60 milliamps of current into the nerves where the pain occurs. This jolt serves to disrupt the pain signals coming from those nerves, and instead of hurting, the area ends up feeling tingly or even numb.

The output current can be adjusted, so you really only want to dial in enough juice for the pain to disappear, and it seems to include individual settings for the knees, shoulders, lower back & hips, upper back, and your hands & wrists. Normally I’d raise an eyebrow or 2 at an electronic device that promises relief from pain, but according to Joel Durham Jr. who writes for ExtremeTech, the TENS was quite effective at relieving his own back pain. And while this doesn’t seem like the kind of device you should use without the approval of your doctor, they do appear to be available for sale online to the general public, but expect to pay upwards of $800 if you’re interested.

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http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2321737,00.asp





from http://www.ohgizmo.com/

dluby:
Yeah, lower back pain seems to be a normal part of life for me (particularly when trying to sleep).

I'd be interested to hear people's experience of these devices.

CWuestefeld:
I used to suffer back pain, and went to a chiropractor regularly for it. He used an electrical stimulation device, possibly similar to what's being discussed. I definitely experienced improvement from the visits.

However, my wife and I committed to a real exercise regimen, and this has improved the situation so that I no longer see the chiropractor (and feel better than when I had). I suspect that the crunches and other abdominal exercises are what's relevant here.

40hz:
However, my wife and I committed to a real exercise regimen, and this has improved the situation so that I no longer see the chiropractor (and feel better than when I had). I suspect that the crunches and other abdominal exercises are what's relevant here.
-CWuestefeld (July 28, 2008, 10:16 AM)
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Exercise? I was afraid that was going to be the answer.  :(

KenR:
I used to suffer back pain, and went to a chiropractor regularly for it. He used an electrical stimulation device, possibly similar to what's being discussed. I definitely experienced improvement from the visits.

However, my wife and I committed to a real exercise regimen, and this has improved the situation so that I no longer see the chiropractor (and feel better than when I had). I suspect that the crunches and other abdominal exercises are what's relevant here.
-CWuestefeld (July 28, 2008, 10:16 AM)
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Two separate ways of decreasing pain have been raised in this thread: TENS unit usage to decrease pain by Mouser and subsequently exercise by CWuestefeld. Since pain control mechanisms vary greatly with these two approaches it's probably best to keep them conceptually separate.

Exercise is sometimes an extremely helpful aspect of pain management. In the case of the back, exercise strengthens the abdominal or stomach muscles. As these muscles increase in strength, they can serve a greater role in postural support. Pain then decreases because there is less stress on the spine.

In contrast, a TENS unit serves a strictly palliative role rather than attempting to modify the underlying pathophysiology. As described in Mouser's post, these units decrease pain by disrupting the "pain signal" being transmitted through the nerves. An additional or alternative approach used by some (particularly newer) devices, is to stimulate the release of the body's natural pain reduction substances (endorphins) into the muscles.

As CWuestefeld indicated, it's preferable to eliminate or decrease a medical problem rather than just treating the resulting symptoms. Sometimes this is not possible though or even potentially dangerous. When this is the case, treating the symptoms with a TENS (or any other approach) is all that's left.

Regarding the two approaches, signal disruption is the older one and it appears that an increasing number of devices are being designed to release endorphins or to do both. Consistent with this shift, an informal review of the information available on the internet appears to suggest that TENS units that stimulate endorphin release decrease pain more.

Ken

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