tens/tse pain control machines

[jema]

Does anyone know if these actually work, when it comes to the machines you can buy for home use?

I have not found any rational discussion on them in my searching so far :(

jema

[crimresearch]

Here is an overview...


"If a patient doesn't require hospital care, the patient can use the TENS device, preset to the proper level, at home. The device does not interfere with most normal activities.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in June 1990 questioned the effectiveness of TENS. The study concluded "that for patients with chronic low back pain, treatment with TENS is no more effective than treatment with a placebo, and TENS adds no apparent benefit to that of exercise alone."
But, because a number of previous studies support the use of TENS, FDA still considers TENS to be effective for pain relief for some people.
Although it isn't clear why TENS works, there are two plausible
theories, according to the Harvard Medical School Health Letter..."

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON00108.html

[TruthSeeker]

This article (http://www.emedicine.com/pmr/byname/transcutaneous-electrical-nerve-stimulation.htm) gives a slightly more sophisticated explanation:

The results of laboratory studies suggest that electrical stimulation delivered by a TENS unit reduces pain through nociceptive inhibition at the presynaptic level in the dorsal horn, thus limiting its central transmission. The electrical stimuli on the skin preferentially activate low- threshold myelinated nerve fibers. The afferent input from these fibers inhibits propagation of nociception carried in the small unmyelinated C fibers by blocking transmission along these fibers to the target or T cells located in the substantia gelatinosa (laminae 2 and 3) of the dorsal horn.

Because the response to TENS is so variable across patients, we usually recommend that people rent one first and only purchase from a reputable dealer. You can usually get a good recommendation from a physiotherapist

[Pantastic]

A detailed but complex explanation that may be difficult to follow for those not aquainted with basic neuroanatomy. One way TENS is thought to work is by 'gating out' the pain impulses. Since the sensory and pain nerves from a specific area go through the same area in the spinal cord, as it were, they can't both fire at the same time. There is a 'gate' which only allows through one or the other. By stimulating sensory nerves at a low level, you 'gate out' the pain impulses.

Technically less correct but easier to understand, I think.

[jema]

thanks for the replies :)

Some useful pointers, but still not very much on TSE unfortunately :(

I am pretty suspicious that the TSE side of things is snake oil.

jema