How Tens Unit Helps Cope with Chronic Pain

Life is full of uncertainties as there is nothing that stays permanent whether it is the success, failures, good health, or physical sufferings. Therefore, do not worry, in any case, and enjoy every moment of it.

If we talk about physical sufferings, then one such that makes life a bit challenging and arduous is chronic pain.

Are you a victim of chronic pain? If yes, then this post is for you.

If no, then read this post as an informative piece to help someone needy.

According to an article published on WebMD, about 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain.

Let’s see what chronic pain is.

Chronic Pain: An Introduction

Chronic pain is a kind of pain that lasts longer than six months. Ask a person how life gets challenging to live with it. In chronic pain, the pain signals always remain active in the nervous system for months or even years which make living life painful.

This pain originates due to initial trauma/injury or infection. In a human body, it commonly occurs in the form of headaches, joint pain, pain from an injury (often past injury), and backaches. Other kinds of pains include tendinitis, sinus pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and different body parts like shoulder pain, pelvic pain, and neck pain.

Further, chronic pain not only emotionally impacts, but also lowers body’s production of natural painkillers. It increases negative feelings and suppresses the immune system. People who suffer from chronic pain tend to have a higher percentage of depression, anxiety, neuroticism, and sleep disturbances.

The energy level in people suffering from chronic pain feel is comparatively low as they feel exhausted all the time. Consequently, it contributes to less physical activity due to fear of exacerbating pain and finally results in a drastic weight gain.

A majority of people suffering from chronic pain prefer to go for cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance & commitment therapy, medications, and opioid treatment to improve the quality of life. However, not every person is comfortable with these treatments.

If it is the same case with you or anyone you know, then give TENS unit a shot. Various people with chronic pain use TENS unit to get relieved from body pains.

What is TENS Unit?

TENS expands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. These devices are extremely effective at relieving nerve-related body pains. These are electrotherapy devices that come in different specifications and are portable & easy to operate. It is your choice whether you prefer to choose a wireless TENS unit or with wires.

A TENS unit produces low-voltage electric current to stimulate body nerves to relieve a person from the pain. Electrical current generated by this device is absolutely safe and causes no harm to body. Whether it is knee pain due to arthritis, migraine headaches, period pains, sports injury, normal tiredness, chronic back pain, or musculoskeletal pain, it helps relieve all of them.

During therapy, just place the sticky patches (electrodes) on the skin where the patient needs treatment. This device then stimulates body nerves by producing painless signals. To get better results, consult with your doctor or a therapist to understand how to use the device properly and which settings can get you the best results.

Let’s see how to use TENS unit.

How to Use a TENS Unit?

• Always use as per instructions.
• In case you use wireless TENS, make sure the device is fully charged. Use provided knobs to control electrical signals as per your needs.
• If using TENS unit with wires, make sure pins are properly connected.
• Clean your skin and let it dry for good grip of sticky patches to get good results.
• Use gel beneath each electrode to get better relief.
• Make sure sticky patches get firmly stuck on your skin, or you can use medical tape. Further, take help for the body parts you are not able to reach out.

Precautions You Need To Take

Health experts worldwide consider TENS devices safe and effective way to cope with chronic pain. However, it is a portable machine and may cause harm if not properly used.

So, take a glance at the following points to see precautions to be taken.

• Follow what you doctor, or health expert says.
• Do let you physician know in case of improvement and ineffectiveness.
• Avoid using TENS devices while sleeping.
• After therapy, remove the gel to keep electrodes clean.
• Never use while take showers.
• Do not place electrodes on the broken or irritated skin.
• Avoid medical tapes to fix electrodes if your skin gets red easily or too much sensitive.
• Avoid using TENS unit while driving.
• Avoid using with any heating pads or cold packs.

Over to You

If you have tried everything to get rid of chronic pain, but did not get effective results, then try TENS unit at least to witness how it helps you get relieve from the pain.