TENS Units In The Treatment Of Back Pain

There’s a raging battle wondering if TENS units actually work in the treatment of back pain. 

It is one of the less commonly used back pain treatments and does show some success. 

Known as a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS unit, it utilizes a low voltage electrical current designed to relieve pain.

This is a battery-powered device, which is not much bigger than an IPod, and is typically used by a trained physiotherapist.

TENS electrodes are placed on the area where you are experiencing pain which then allows the electrical current to be absorbed into the painful area.  It is not a magic cure and the TENS unit doesn’t work for everyone but there’s has been a lot of success with the TENS unit reducing the amount of pain experienced in most people. 

How does the TENS work? 

Some health care providers believe the electrical current scrambles the pain signals sent from the area of pain to the brain and so the brain doesn’t think it should hurt there anymore. It is thought that nerves send the messed up messages to the brain and because of the pain signals getting confused the brain no longer sends pain messages back down to the area in the back that hurts.

Sounds simple, right? 

Other healthcare professionals believe the TENS stimulates the production of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers and so this results in the reduction of pain. 

TENS units can send varying amounts of electrical current depending on how it is configured.

Regardless of the fact that you can actually buy one of these for yourself, that’s not really the best idea since a trained physiotherapist has been trained in evaluating the situation and establishing the correct settings based on your needs.  Don’t rush it, there is no reason to increase the settings on the TENS in hopes of getting relief of the back pain sooner... it just doesn’t work that way. 

Some believers of the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation device think that these units work exceptionally well for some back pain sufferers.  Even though some people don’t feel like they got all the relief they were looking for with the TENS unit, it does appear that many people who have used these units do report enough of a decrease in pain that it does appear to be beneficial.  Research continues as scientist try to learn the exact benefits of back pain sufferers using a TENS. 

So while there still needs to be more studies, there’s already lots of evidence that shows it can be a useful tool in the treatment of lower back pain.

Back pain can be very uncomfortable and disruptive to your life, so seek help. Your health care provider and your physiotherapist may suggest not only an exercise program but may also suggest the use of a TENS device. 

Find the perfect mix of alternative therapies such as using a TENS units and traditional therapies such as anti-inflammatory medications and hopefully you will soon be free from back pain.