TENS Machine

TENS Machine - Natural Pain Relief

The TENS machine has now become a popular option for people who wish to relieve the pain that they are feeling, especially those who suffer from persistent or chronic pain. Although there have been many studies carried out as to the effective ness of this machine in which some it concludes that they do seem to help alleviate pain for some people, but in others it does not. Therefore further research does need to be carried out to clarify the role of TENS machine in modern day medicine and its effectiveness.

It however seems the TENS machine does seem popular in helping to deal with various painful conditions and the popularity of the machine would certainly imply that seem effective in helping to reduce pain that people are feeling. However, the amount of pain relief that is provided by the machine is likely to vary from patient to patient, even those who are being treated for the same condition.

A TENS machine works by sending small electrical pulses through the body via electrodes placed on the skin. It is thought that TENS machine affects the way that pain signals are sent to the brain. All pain signals that the brain receives are sent via the nerves and the spine of a person s body and therefore if the pain signals can be blocked then the brain is likely to receive fewer signals from where the pain source originates from, which results in the patient feeling less pain.


It is thought that a TENS machine works in two ways. Firstly, when the TENS machine is set on a high pulse rate of 90-130Hz it will trigger the pain gate to close and this in turn is thought to block the pain nerve path to the brain and this seems to be the normal use for this machine. However, if the machine was set on a low pulse rate say 2-5Hz it will stimulate the patients body into making its own pain easing chemicals called endorphins. They act in a similar way to morphine by blocking the pain signals to the brain.

TENS machine is generally used to help reduce pain in muscles, joints or nerves rather than for chest, head or abdominal pains. One of the benefits that many people are finding from using a TENS machine is that unlike with medication there are virtually no side effects. However, it must be stressed that certain people such as those who are not the sure what the cause of pain is or it has not been diagnosed by a doctor, a pregnant woman (unless it has the doctor has specifically advised its use), people with pacemakers and people who suffer from epilepsy or certain forms of heart disease.

A "TENS machine" is best used only on the advice of your doctor or other health professional. TENS machine is certainly not suitable to deal with all types of pain or all types of conditions. Remember at all times when you are using this machine to not only follow the doctors instructions, but also those provided by the manufacturer of the TENS machine.