TENS unit?

[krysy8]

has anyone tried the electrical stimulation units for pain relief? my PT has a nice fancyone and uses it on me w heat, it feels soooo excellent. my dr gave a prescrip for on to use at home, its so not the same though. I forgot to ask, how long i can leave it on for, i will ask on Friday.
Do you use one? Does it help w pain relief?
As i understand, the only way it really helps is by tricking the brain into feeling the stimualtion instead of the pain, is that right?

[Maria]

Long long long ago I tried the tens unit which didn't help me at all however maybe 10 years later I tried something called an interferential unit that supposedly goes a bit deeper and that along with other PM modalities did help. In fact I purchased a unit. I think I still have it tho have not used it for near 10 years.

[teg]

I was prescribed a tens unit about 7 years ago. The unit works wonders for me. My chiropractor said that I could use the unit as long as I needed to. My stim sessions lasted for 20 minutes or I would have longer sessions that lasted an hour.

I Think that the tens units serves two purposes:

1. Blocks pain signals, as the brain can only focus on the electrical stimulation rather that the pain.
2. The tens unit has helped me get rid of the muscle spasms.

I hope that you feel better soon.

Thelma

[Poncho]

Hi there,

The TENS unit did help when set at the right setting. Make sure they show you all the settings it has. (yes - I did go to work with it as a nurse with wires and all). It all depends on the severity on your back injury.

For me it helped as a bridge between therapy vs surgery. However, it did give me pain relief dealing with the whole bad back thing.

Eventually, after doing all my research and waiting over time, plus jumping throug all the hoops and doing all the research I could do.... I needed surgery with a 2 level ADR over in Austria. (Long story in and of itself).

Anyways, if this will help you recover... - I say go for it!!!

Sincerely,
Poncho

[mmglobal]

I too like the electrical stim you get at PT... the warm doorknob that provides deep heat and a great massage. That is different technology from theTENS unit you use at home. I've not had good luck with the TENS unit. It may provide the slightest benefit, but (for me) does not seem to be worth the bother.

I don't know how your insurance coverage for the TENS unit works, but if it helps, you are welcome to borrow mine. Just contact me through the GPN site (linked below) and I'll be happy to send it to you.

Mark

[krysy8]

Originally Posted by mmglobal

I too like the electrical stim you get at PT... the warm doorknob that provides deep heat and a great massage. That is different technology from theTENS unit you use at home. I've not had good luck with the TENS unit. It may provide the slightest benefit, but (for me) does not seem to be worth the bother.

I don't know how your insurance coverage for the TENS unit works, but if it helps, you are welcome to borrow mine. Just contact me through the GPN site (linked below) and I'll be happy to send it to you.

Mark

Wow mark thats really nice to offer, my insurance did cover it and i got one... im using it lots in the morning!

[jsewell]

i didn't really notice much benefit at home and then the dog ate it
judy