5 Ways to Use TENS Units for Pain Treatment

If you’re familiar with HiDow, then you know that we are all about our Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, simply referred to as TENS therapy. TENS is a common pain relief treatment used to help a wide array of aches and pains, from minor soreness and fatigue to helping some of the world’s most high-impact athletes recover from sports-related injuries. With so many different ways to use TENS units for pain treatment, we could go on all day, but here are 10 pains you can treat with a TENS/EMS device.

1. Postoperative Physical Therapy

Following most surgical operations, healthcare professionals can recommend that the patient see a physical therapist to help with postoperative physical therapy. This is the case with many injuries where the patient has suffered an injury that limits mobility and range of motion. During this rehabilitation, it’s commonplace that physical therapists use a combination of light exercises paired with a TENS/EMS recovery session to help limit and manage pain.

2. Fibromyalgia

It is a disorder characterized by chronic musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues. Fibromyalgia patients experience heightened pain due to how the brain processes pain signals. TENS devices disrupt those pain signals in the top nerves before they reach the brain. This can significantly help when trying to relieve chronic pain.

3. Back and Sciatica Pain

One of the most common ways to use TENS units is for pain relief. It is to alleviate lower back and sciatica pain. Sciatic pain is pain that radiates along your sciatic nerves. That extends from your lower back through your hips and down your legs. Most of the time, sciatic pain can affect one side of your body more than the other, but it most commonly impacts the lower back.

Common causes of sciatica pain are herniated disks, pinched nerves, and inflammation and pain.

4. For Stretching and Recovering Between Workouts

TENS devices are commonly used for post-workout recovery. Applying the electrode pads to an affected area that is sore and stretching. Helps you alleviate some of the immediate pain that you feel from inflammation.

5. Knees, ACL, MCL, Meniscus

If you’re coming off from arthroscopic surgery for an injured or torn ACL, MCL, or meniscus. You’re familiar with the long and difficult recovery. TENS units are often used throughout post-op physical therapy sessions. To help limit pain felt by placing electrodes above and below the knee.