OTHER PAIN TREATMENTS: TENS THERAPY (ALSO CALLED TCNS OR TES)

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a treatment derived initially from the observation that electricity applied to the skin could have profound effects in controlling pain symptoms.

TENS units are typically small, portable, sophisticated electronic devices which deliver a low-energy electrical pulse to the surface of the skin via electrodes. These electrodes may be semipermanent or may be used in combination with conducting gels.

The electrodes are placed over localised areas of pain or at distant areas which often correspond to acupuncture points.

The treatment is particularly useful in those conditions associated with abnormalities of the muscles or bones.

TENS therapy has also been found to be useful in the treatment of whiplash injury to the neck, repetitive strain injury (RSI) and chronic low back pain. TENS therapy has the advantages of being convenient, simple and safe. There are very few direct reasons not to use TENS therapy. But it should be used carefully in the area between the shoulders and the waist, and in pregnant women. TENS therapy is available through pain clinics, through general practitioners who have become acquainted with the technique, and through physiotherapists. Fortunately, increasing numbers of general practitioners are using TENS therapy in day-to-day pain management. One of TENS therapy’s greatest advantages is that it makes the patient independent of medical or para-medical supervision, making it a highly cost-effective method of treatment.