Have you ever heard of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or what most of us call TENS therapy? Most people have heard of it, but only a portion of people really understand what it is. Getting TENS therapy is a great option for some people who suffer from daily aches and pains. However, it does not work for everything. If you struggle with pain, you may want to give it a try. If, however, it does not provide you any relief, it is time to get a medical professional involved.
What Exactly Is TENS Therapy?
TENS therapy is a type of electrical stimulation that is meant to help areas of your body heal. You have electrodes that go on your skin, with wires that attach back to the battery pack. Those electrodes go right where your pain starts, or they can go on a pressure point in the same general area. Once they are in place, the battery pack gets turned on. This sends gently electrical pulses through the wires to help stimulate the painful area.
The goal of TENS therapy is to stimulate more blood flow to the area. This is to help the painful part of your body heal. The increased blood helps with the repairs the inside of your body needs, plus it helps provide extra oxygen to the body. The electrical pulses travel along a circuit. It starts at the battery pack, goes through one wire, through the nerves of the body to the other electrode and up the other wire. The pulse then completes when it reaches the battery pack again. Some people feel relief because the electrical stimulation also scrambles the signals being sent between nerves.
Types of Conditions That Respond Well to TENS Therapy
There are many conditions that can lead to pain. Most of the time, when nerve pain is involved, your body struggles to function properly. These are ideal times to consider using TENS therapy. The stimulation helps the nerves send out the proper signals, while also scrambling pain signals to help your body cope. When TENS therapy is applied, the body is often able to achieve a level of relief. However, it does not help with every type of chronic pain you may experience.
Muscle and joint pain often respond favorably to TENS therapy. This is because the muscle and joints that ache, usually hurt from common activities. Working out too hard, moving furniture, yardwork, and stress can all lead to overall aches and pains. These types of pain are usually short-lived, and will go away on their own in time. That is what makes them ideal for TENS therapy. This simply speeds up the natural healing process. Some bone aches can also respond well to TENS therapy. The aches related to bone pain often stem from arthritis.
How Safe is TENS Therapy?
TENS therapy is considered quite safe. People can use it to help manage pain during many situations of their lives. It is safe for people recovering from cancer. Plus, it is also able to provide relief to women going through labor. It will not hurt the baby during delivery, and it leaves no lasting residual effects after the therapy stops. The most important thing to remember when using TENS therapy is to use the device safely. If you are not sure how to use it, make sure someone with experience shows you the right way to use it.
What to Do When TENS Therapy Is Not the Answer for You
There are times where your body will not respond to TENS therapy. This happens occasionally. When this happens, you need to figure out alternative options. Some people will go in and see their primary care physician. This allows them to go on a medicine cycle to see if the pain will go away. Typically, the medicine will mask the pain, but that can be both good and bad.
It is good that the medicine brings about relief in many patients. However, it is bad that they do not feel the same type of pain. When the medicine is on board, the pain is less or gone. This means you are more likely to go about your normal routine. That could leave you facing more pain or face a slower recovery. Sometimes it also leaves you with worse pain because while you couldn’t feel the pain, you overdid something and re-injured yourself.
Another option when you are not getting the right results from things like TENS therapy is to go to a chiropractor. They can help straighten out the nerves where you feel the pain. This can help reduce or rid you of chronic pain. It takes a few appointments to get rid of the pain and maintaining that relief may mean regular appointments. However, it often helps rid your body of many types of pain instead of just the one area you went in for originally.
Getting Help from a Professional Chiropractor
Pain does not need to dictate your life. There are many different remedies that can help. One of the remedies you may want to consider for early stages of pain is TENS therapy. If that does not work, seeing a chiropractor is another great option. They go to school to help rid the body of pain. It is their job (and often their passion) to help people feel better. Consider the benefits of seeing a chiropractor on a regular basis. They can rid your body of any type of new pain, plus they can often help relieve pain you may have struggled with for years. Do not let pain decide what type of quality of life you have. Make the choice for yourself.
