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Anyone used TENS/EMS devices for chronic spine/nerve pain?

M

moose eater

Just ordered a combination TENS/EMS device for spine, joint and other pains.

Cervical damage has my right hand partly numb for the last several months, and undetermined damage to thoracic spine provides accents to life that come and go.

Doc said he'd "have to turn (my) lower back/lumbar into a solid piece of pipe if he considered fusion there," meaning I'm not a candidate for fusion in my lumbar, but I am in my cervical..

Ran into a booth at the Fair that was marketing the devices referenced above, and gave one a test drive for a bit. Seemed to work, but then anecdotal experiences can be quite subjective, too.

Wondering if others have used these things, to what end results, which brands, pointers, etc.?
 

Dawn Patrol

Well this is some bullshit right here.....
Veteran
I have a small (but powerful) unit that I bought at a home show years ago. Paid stupid money for it, I think they are under $50 now if you know where to look online.

Also used a large commercial unit numerous times at a chiropractors office during a course of treatment for lower back pain a couple years ago.

I asked the chiropractor and my physician about their use and they both said that all they do is confuse the nerves and temporarily numb the pain. They do not heal you, but they are useful along with other treatments i.e. chiropractic adjustments, deep tissue massage, etc.

The best use of the commercial units I have experienced was on my lower back after physical therapy and under a cold pack.

So I have found mine useful for pain relief, especially for muscle pains and much less effective for joint/back pains. IME with no other course of treatment, nothing has gotten better from TENS use alone.

Hope this helps you, others may have differing experiences.
 
M

moose eater

Thanks.

I was here before a couple times before (the first membership was for a lengthy period), but sue to my status as a Newbie, I'm unable to PM or rep.

That said, I looked up an NIH study that stated, fairly unequivocally, that in a long-term study of TENS users, they decreased their intake of pain meds (I rarely use them now, unless I can hardly move), AND also decreased the need for, or frequency of occupational therapy and physical therapy.

My guess is that if there's a real physical benefit to these things, other than scrambling pain signals, then it might be the nerve's ceasing spasms allowing the muscles to stop their part in the spasms, which is the result of the nerve spasms, but which tends to spiral on and on, reciprocally.

Another source referenced decreasing spasticity for persons suffering symptoms from MS.

The limited experience I had with the 'test drive' at the Fair had me believing that I felt somewhat better. Likely due to the issues stated in the paragraph above re. nerve and muscle spasms working hand-in-hand..

I'm looking forward to being able to slap on a couple patches when nerves are going bonkers, and quieting them down a bit.

And yeah, the one I ordered today had a rating of 4.9 out of 5 (fairly stout rating), and, not counting extra patches and gel, it cost $45 with free shipping. At the Fair they wanted $250, but very quickly came down to $150, though I still abstained to see what I could find out about them.

Glad I waited.

Thanks again. :tiphat:


I have a small (but powerful) unit that I bought at a home show years ago. Paid stupid money for it, I think they are under $50 now if you know where to look online.

Also used a large commercial unit numerous times at a chiropractors office during a course of treatment for lower back pain a couple years ago.

I asked the chiropractor and my physician about their use and they both said that all they do is confuse the nerves and temporarily numb the pain. They do not heal you, but they are useful along with other treatments i.e. chiropractic adjustments, deep tissue massage, etc.

The best use of the commercial units I have experienced was on my lower back after physical therapy and under a cold pack.

So I have found mine useful for pain relief, especially for muscle pains and much less effective for joint/back pains. IME with no other course of treatment, nothing has gotten better from TENS use alone.

Hope this helps you, others may have differing experiences.
 

dddaver

Active member
Veteran
Years ago a Physical therapist used one on my lower back. It was like a godsend even though the relief lasted only until she turned it off. So I went and bought one on-line. It is only a little battery operated jobby but thought it might be enough. As I remember it had a pretty good price tag.

No matter how much I fiddled with it I never got it to work right so just ended up putting it back it it's case a pretty much forgetting about it.

I guess the moral to this is there are plenty of pieces of crap out there and do your homework and read some reviews.
 

Junk

Member
Just ordered a combination TENS/EMS device for spine, joint and other pains.

Cervical damage has my right hand partly numb for the last several months, and undetermined damage to thoracic spine provides accents to life that come and go.

Doc said he'd "have to turn (my) lower back/lumbar into a solid piece of pipe if he considered fusion there," meaning I'm not a candidate for fusion in my lumbar, but I am in my cervical..

Ran into a booth at the Fair that was marketing the devices referenced above, and gave one a test drive for a bit. Seemed to work, but then anecdotal experiences can be quite subjective, too.

Wondering if others have used these things, to what end results, which brands, pointers, etc.?

I use mine constantly. My problems are not like yours, but my problem is pain nonetheless.

The only thing noteworthy imo is that the pads need to be high quality. If they aren't, you get a stinging sensation instead of the stimulation. You need to have plenty of high quality pads on hand or you don't end up using the tens machine.

My unit is portable. It's a relia-med 350T. It's nothing special, but my chiro has a large in house unit, and I don't notice a difference. So, I have no complaints.
 

EsterEssence

Well-known member
Veteran
I used a quell for the 2 month trial, I have nerve pain in my feet, seemed to work at first then I got tired of the thing shocking me for the relief I got. So I sent it back...
 

Junk

Member
I used a quell for the 2 month trial, I have nerve pain in my feet, seemed to work at first then I got tired of the thing shocking me for the relief I got. So I sent it back...

If you mean sick of the "vibration" effect, I hear you.

But if the feeling changed, that's the effect from the pads deteriorating. It becomes uncomfortable, like tiny stinging sensations laced intermittently.

Cheap ones can give you that stinging feeling fresh out the box. For it to be a long term thing, it means spending money on pads.
 
M

moose eater

Thanks. With my internet connectivity being so INCREDIBLY slow, I put literally days into researching models, and came up with the highest ratings by a respectable number of people, even though it had a somewhat shorter warranty period.

My subjective experience of the one they used on me at the Fair was that it seemed to help for a 2-3 hour period after I left there.. But who knows?

Thanks for helping out with info.

Years ago a Physical therapist used one on my lower back. It was like a godsend even though the relief lasted only until she turned it off. So I went and bought one on-line. It is only a little battery operated jobby but thought it might be enough. As I remember it had a pretty good price tag.

No matter how much I fiddled with it I never got it to work right so just ended up putting it back it it's case a pretty much forgetting about it.

I guess the moral to this is there are plenty of pieces of crap out there and do your homework and read some reviews.
 
M

moose eater

Thanks.

I didn't even think to look to see what model(s)/brands they were using in the NIH study I dug up.

Just guessing, they may have been relying on consumers' personal units, or they might have issued something to them for the purpose of the study. Probably worth a look.

I use mine constantly. My problems are not like yours, but my problem is pain nonetheless.

The only thing noteworthy imo is that the pads need to be high quality. If they aren't, you get a stinging sensation instead of the stimulation. You need to have plenty of high quality pads on hand or you don't end up using the tens machine.

My unit is portable. It's a relia-med 350T. It's nothing special, but my chiro has a large in house unit, and I don't notice a difference. So, I have no complaints.
 
M

moose eater

Sounds like the stationary bike or treadmill experience for many folks; ours became a hat and coat rack, which had it seeing far more use. :biggrin:

I used a quell for the 2 month trial, I have nerve pain in my feet, seemed to work at first then I got tired of the thing shocking me for the relief I got. So I sent it back...
 

Saibai

栽培して収穫しましょう!
Veteran
I had used large ones once or twice at a clinic before with some relief but when I first used the small one my wife got it seemed to exacerbate the pain.
I came back to it and tweaked the settings and now it's useful as another tool for when neck/back pain is bad.
Although it's very locally focused and more about the muscles than joints etc, it helps.
 
M

moose eater

Thanks.

The one I played with briefly also came with the warning from the vendor that for some users, the higher settings produced some degree of discomfort.

Another poster in this thread indicated their discomfort seemed to be from the type/quality of pads they used. That might be a trial and error kind of thing to resolve; finding the better pads. (*Maybe we'll luck out, 'straight out of the gate').

I'm looking forward to the one that we ordered, to see if it is as effective as the brief experience at the Fair ~seemed~ to be.

Thanks again!!

I had used large ones once or twice at a clinic before with some relief but when I first used the small one my wife got it seemed to exacerbate the pain.
I came back to it and tweaked the settings and now it's useful as another tool for when neck/back pain is bad.
Although it's very locally focused and more about the muscles than joints etc, it helps.
 

Junk

Member
Thanks.

The one I played with briefly also came with the warning from the vendor that for some users, the higher settings produced some degree of discomfort.

Another poster in this thread indicated their discomfort seemed to be from the type/quality of pads they used. That might be a trial and error kind of thing to resolve; finding the better pads. (*Maybe we'll luck out, 'straight out of the gate').

I'm looking forward to the one that we ordered, to see if it is as effective as the brief experience at the Fair ~seemed~ to be.

Thanks again!!

Yes, that was me.

To all, if you want to skip the trial and error, call your (or your local chiropractor) and ask what make/model pads they use. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation, I promise.

**Edit, it's 8am, so I just called mine for you. These are the best pads I've found.

Scrip Hessco
Basic Reusable Electrodes
Model 6720193
Size 2" x 2" (square, I like square best, so does my chiro)
Quantity 4
Lot 41757
Phone # (800) 747-3488
360 Veterans Pkwy Suite 115
Bolingbrook IL 60440
www.scripHessco.com
 

Saibai

栽培して収穫しましょう!
Veteran
Cheers, the one I have is a Japanese one, and the standard settings were too harsh.
There's heaps of different settings on this one, I should get the model number.
 
M

moose eater

Thanks. Useful stuff.

We had gone ahead and ordered 20 pads (10 pair) for a relatively low investment of about $15, and though we don't have money to burn at the moment, if they're not good, they can always go to the reuse bin at the dumpster transfer site.

Yes, that was me.

To all, if you want to skip the trial and error, call your (or your local chiropractor) and ask what make/model pads they use. It will save you a lot of time and aggravation, I promise.

**Edit, it's 8am, so I just called mine for you. These are the best pads I've found.

Scrip Hessco
Basic Reusable Electrodes
Model 6720193
Size 2" x 2" (square, I like square best, so does my chiro)
Quantity 4
Lot 41757
Phone # (800) 747-3488
360 Veterans Pkwy Suite 115
Bolingbrook IL 60440
www.scripHessco.com
 
M

moose eater

Awesome!

I chose one based on highest reviews, with as many verified purchases as possible.

In the end I selected one with a 4.9 rating, but there were only 43 reviews.

The somewhat lower number might be influenced by it being a newer product (though FDA-approved, for what ever good that carries with it), -or- it might be that at 43, the manufacturer/distributor ran out of immediate family members, in-laws and employees to 'salt' the ratings with. But there were no reviews under a 4.

Cheers, the one I have is a Japanese one, and the standard settings were too harsh.
There's heaps of different settings on this one, I should get the model number.
 

XXX_710

Member
TENS is the best non-drug pain relief I've found, next to strenuous exercise. Mine is an Ultima 5 with soft-touch pads. My doctor told me about it only after I had been put on all kinds of drugs... grr. It should be one of the first few things they try, but that's the quality of physicians in the US. Go to a chiropractor for pain, not a doctor. I put the unit on a mode that runs 30 minutes and gives several hours of pain relief. My wife puts it on my back for me. If it gets uncomfortable, just turn down the intensity.

Chronic pain is a constant struggle to confuse/disrupt the pain signal that invades your life. It's a poly approach. Don't just do one thing, do many. Chiro and acupuncture, tai chi or yoga, massage, TENS, heating pad, stretching, walking. Nurture yourself and you will have pain relief.

Hang in there!
 
M

moose eater

Thanks. I've used mine sporadically now, especially when things get too tight and mild spasms or worse begin.

The counter-productive response to the activities that reach a painful threshold is that you stop wanting to engage in such activities to protect yourself from that cycle, but in the process, also stop the regular work-outs those parts of the body need to continue on.

I haven't eaten a pain pill or muscle relaxer in probably well over 4-5 months; maybe more. Don't really like them, but use them when needed. typically when I've 'over-done it' without much option, which has often been when out in the bush. Some things just have to be done, even when it hurts.

Thanks for the reply, and I'm in agreement.

The one I use is not as effective or gentle as the one they demo'ed at the Fair, but it's OK for now.

TENS is the best non-drug pain relief I've found, next to strenuous exercise. Mine is an Ultima 5 with soft-touch pads. My doctor told me about it only after I had been put on all kinds of drugs... grr. It should be one of the first few things they try, but that's the quality of physicians in the US. Go to a chiropractor for pain, not a doctor. I put the unit on a mode that runs 30 minutes and gives several hours of pain relief. My wife puts it on my back for me. If it gets uncomfortable, just turn down the intensity.

Chronic pain is a constant struggle to confuse/disrupt the pain signal that invades your life. It's a poly approach. Don't just do one thing, do many. Chiro and acupuncture, tai chi or yoga, massage, TENS, heating pad, stretching, walking. Nurture yourself and you will have pain relief.

Hang in there!
 

MrBungle

Active member
Along with a supply of good pads, make sure you have a supply of the proper type of battery for your unit, if it is a battery operated unit (often times it will be double A, but a specific type)
Also make sure you are using the proper stimulation program for the body part you are treating as well...For instance you could be using the program for elbow relief on your back if you are not careful... :)
 
M

moose eater

I went with cheaper pads, and that may change over time. My unit's rechargeable with no battery replacement option. Built-in power.

There's times I find that some settings are better applied elsewhere. There's some leg and arm modes that work wonders at the base of my neck to either side, which has numerous herniated discs, I'm told.

The base of the neck/cervical is the current source of partial numbness in my right hand for about 6 months or so now, and other interesting features that bring to mind Janis Joplin's reference to 'cheap thrills.'

Even on low settings, if I place the thing at even a modest setting, in certain muscle groups, it causes electronically induced spasms that result in that limb, or what ever limb is nearest the 'shock,' to literally jump. Again, 'neat tricks' time.

But when called for, the TENS Unit and the Teeter-Hang-up are the tickets for me. That, and sleep... when I can...
 

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