TENS Back Pain Treatment

TENS units are used to help alleviate back pain in many patients. TENS stands for transcutaneous electrical neural stimulation and is a popular treatment for those suffering with back pain. Below, we will look at the TENS unit and it's uses.

TENS therapy is the most common form of electrical stimulation that is used for pain relief in back patients. TENS units are used to relieve a wide variety of back pain including patient's that are suffering from low back pain,sciatica and disc problems. A TENS unit is a small battery operated device that delivers electrical impulses through patches that are placed on the skin. These patches send electricity to the nerves and that results in temporary pain relief.

The TENS unit allows the person who is using it to adjust the frequency which works best for their personal pain relief. Set on a high frequency, the stimulation is more tolerable, but the relief of pain generally does not last that long. On a low frequency stimulation setting, the feeling is less comfortable, but the pain relief that results from this setting, usually lasts a bit longer. Most people can only tolerate 20- 30 minutes on this setting. The patches or electrodes should be placed over the painful area or the area surrounding it.

Relief may come from placing the electrodes on the opposite side of the body where the pain is occuring. It is important for the patient to experiment with placement, to find out what works best for them. When trying a TENS unit for the first time, it is important to try the unit for a few days, using different electrode placements. Physicians usually order a home trial of a few weeks before deciding if the TENS unit is helpful in relieving the patient's pain. The TENS unit costs around $300.00 - $800.00 and may be covered by insurance.

Author: T. Wheeler, Back Pain Remedies Product Reviews