TENS is a method of natural pain relief used and recommended throughout the world by pain clinics and physiotherapy departments for all types of long term pain. Not only does TENS reduce your pain, it can also help you to reduce your need for painkillers. TENS is simply a means of stimulating your body’s own natural defences against pain.
TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) delivers tiny, safe, electrical signals through conductive pads to stimulate the nerves under your skin. These signals act in two ways: They block the transmission of pain signals travelling in nearby nerves, stopping them going through the spinal cord to the brain, and they send their own message to the brain, triggering the release of endorphin - the body’s own natural painkiller.
How long can you use TENS?
In general, TENs only gives relief while you are using it. After a few hours the effect begins to wear off. you can stop for a while, then start a new session. You can use your TENs machine as much, and as often, as you get benefit from it. continuous treatment is fine, but electrodes should be repositioned regularly(at least every 12 hours) to allow the skin to be exposed to air.
The Endorphin Release mode works better when the strength is high enough to cause small muscle contractions. After about 20 minutes with uscle contractions, the muscle may begin to ache. If this happens you should stop the session. Best results with endorphin release are achieved at between 20 and 40 minutes. Where no muscle contractions occur, sessions should be at least 20 minutes.
What types of pain does TENS help with?
It's simpler to describe the pain problems that TENS is not indicated in attempting to treat! Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) helps relieve all types of pain except most deep internal pain and pain arising from the mass in cancer. Even then, TENS units do help with Dysmenorrhea (Period Pain) and Angina. Some examples of conditions helped by TENS machines are:
Angina, Ankylosing spondylitis, Arthritis, Back Pain, Bell's Palsy, Bursitis, Dysmenorrhea, Endometriosis, Fibroids, Fibromyalgia, Labour pain, Multiple Sclerosis, Neck Pain, Osteoarthritis, Period Pain, Phantom Limb Pain, Raynauds, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Repetitive Strain Injury.