An astounding 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Either you or someone you know is suffering from chronic pain. Thankfully, Harvard Health states that non-drug treatments such as a TENS unit are very effective for treating pain.
The typical treatments for chronic pain are medications and/or surgery. Then you have to deal with side effects from those medications, causing you more pain and more medications.
The problem is, the last thing you want to experience is a life full of pain, living off medications, surgeries, and complications. You want to experience a quality of life, play with your family and not be stuck inside due to pain.
You can relax, there’s a new treatment out there that’s helping people with chronic pain. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, aka TENS unit, is making waves (electrical ones) in alleviating some of the worst chronic pain.
Here are the top 7 reasons why.
What Is a TENS Unit Anyways?
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is a nonpharmacologic treatment for pain relief. Using a low voltage electrical current, it safely and effectively can reduce pain, allowing you to live a better quality of life.
The TENS unit activates sites in the spinal cord and brain stem that utilize muscarinic, opioid, and serotonin receptors. This is with regular appointments, adequate dosing, and proper intensity.
For back pain, place the TENS unit electrodes on an area of skin over where there is some pain. Electrical Impulses travel along the nerve fibers, relieving pain immediately, also creating a “tingly sensation”. There is pain relief because the unit stimulates the nerves in the spinal cord, closing a “gate” mechanism which relates to pain sensation.
Nerve Retraining
Damaged nerves are not able to send or receive signals. This leads to difficulty to move and extreme pain. This also leads to a loss of movement, due to the fact of the pain when you try and move.
Endorphins are your body’s natural painkiller, and they’re released from the stimulation of the impulses. No better way to treat pain than to utilize the bodies own painkiller.
With enough time and treatments, the brain and nerve patterns are retrained by the impulse that triggers the client’s muscle.
Reduced Inflammation
With pain comes inflammation, which in turn, causes more pain. It’s like a lose-lose situation. Thankfully the TENS unit can help with Inflammation as well.
Numerous studies have discovered that the electric impulses can reduce inflammation located deep within the muscle fibers.
No Side Effects
Living a life of pain, unfortunately, means that you now deal with more pain in order to tolerate it. Pain medications are hard on the body, there are numerous harsh side effects;
- Constipation
- Drowsiness
- Nausea or vomiting
- Dizziness
- Liver failure
- Digestive problems
- Respiratory depression
It is an oxymoron to take something for pain, that in turn, gives you more pain. In other cases, some people actually become resistant to their medications, causing them to be less effective.
The TENS unit has been so effective, that some people have been able to stop their pain meds completely. Unfortunately, you can not use the unit if you have a pacemaker, infusion pump or implanted defibrillator. If you are pregnant, have epilepsy, or have any heart problems whatsoever, consult your doctor before considering a TENS unit.
Affordable
With physical pain, unfortunately also comes financial pain. The price of a lifetime supply of pain medications can be very costly.
These units used to be only in Chiropractic/therapy clinics, as they were very expensive. Now that they are more common, you can purchase one for your home and not have to leave your couch.
A small one-time purchase can help with a better quality of life, financially and comfortability.
Also a Massage
For people without pain, there are other amazing benefits to using a TENS unit. Many distributors are selling these units as massagers. Following a different pulse pattern, they provide a deep massage for the user.
You can change the intensity to massage the muscle internally. For anyone suffering from any type of pain, this is a very useful added benefit.
Super Easy to Use
Being an advanced medical device, the units are extremely easy to use. That being said, you can use them at home because they are so simple to operate.
Just simply place the pad on the muscle that needs stimulating, and the machine will take over from there. There is a dial for the intensity and some auto-programs that will do that work for you.
An Improved Quality of Life
When it comes down to it, all you want with pain management is a better quality of life. You want to get back to the activities that make you happy. Whether it be keeping up with your family, being active outdoors, or sleeping better.
The loss of productivity in the workplace due to pain is an astronomical $299-$325 billion USD. It’s time to stop taking sick pay, and start using vacation pay.
You know your pain management is working well when you can say goodbye to pain medications, and start living the life you deserve.
Summary
The use of a TENS unit is economical, costing you much less than surgery or pain medications. You can use it easily, with no side effects, relieving both muscle and nerve pain. The use of the unit can help you get back to a better, more productive quality of life.
If you have any questions about the units. Or any inquiries about pain management, we are here to help
Please contact us and we would be happy to set up a consultation with you at your convenience.
