Doctor visits, medications, surgeries, all these can make a patient feel tiring and if the results of all of them turn out to be average or negative, anyone can lose hope and fall into depression. Thankfully, there are some treatment methods like the TENS Unit , which will never disappoint anyone and gives the best benefit of healing at home.TENS Therapy? What is that? Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) device is a therapeutic modality that comes in a small battery-operated device along with electrodes which involve the transmission of low-voltage electric impulses along nerve strands and skin's surface to treat acute to chronic pain.
What does a TENS machine do? The small, hand-held, battery-poweredTENS machine sends electric currents through the medium of electrodes that have adhesive pads that are placed on the painful area of the body to be treated.
Now, the TENS device functions on the basis of two theories. One is the Gate Control Theory which suggests that there’s a neural mechanism in our spinal cord that acts as a kind of gate that shuts and opens up the flow of signals from the periphery to the brain. Whether the gate is open, closed or partially closed depends on what sort of signal it receives from the brain to change the perception of pain in the user’s body. The electrical impulses thus interfere with the transmission of pain messages and block the pain receptors from being sent from the nerves to the brain and spinal cord by diverting its attention to the electric signals.
The second theory is Endorphin Release in which the electrical impulses encourage the brain to produce the natural morphine-like substance called endorphins to block pain messages from reaching the brain and to promote faster healing of the affected area.
TENS Units come with different adjustable settings to control amplitude (intensity) of stimulation and pulse width (duration) of each pulse to use it as per the treatment requires.
Types of TENS Physiotherapy There are different types of TENS treatment like the traditional (Hi TENS, Normal TENS), Acupuncture (Lo TENS, AcuTENS), Brief Intense, Burst Mode, and Modulation Mode.
What are TENS units used for? As said before, Tens therapy can treat acute to chronic pains and discomforts from a sports injury, menstruation, migraines, pulled muscles, joint conditions, post-operation, cancer, bursitis, tendinitis, endometriosis, painful diabetic neuropathy, spinal cord injury, etc.
Benefits of TENS therapy The TENS device is a safe, noninvasive, natural, drug-free method of pain management. It saves one from becoming dependent on medications for lifelong and their adverse side effects. Having a portableTens machine for pain relief likeSONICTENS makes it easy for you to continue your treatment anywhere, anytime.
TENS Units Contraindications
- Application of the electrodes over the trunk, abdomen or pelvis during pregnancy is contraindicated although is handled safely, there is no risk.
- Patients with a Pacemaker or any other implanted electronic device should avoid routine treatment with TENS Machine.
- Patients having an allergic response to the electrodes, gel or tape
- Patients having dermatological lesions e.g. dermatitis, eczema
- Application over the anterior aspect of the neck or carotid sinus