I once posted about a “Dr. Ho” device, unfortunately, my post was ill-timed because it coincided with an article debunking those electric “workout without working out” weight loss rip off devices. The answers weren’t quite about electricity as an analgesic.
So I’ll try to be more specific:
How does a TENS device work?
How does stimulating a muscle and/or nerves with a small pulses of an electric current manage pain?
Does it actually have a valid therapeutic benefit?
What’s the risk of exacerbating an injury? (e.g./ I’m no doctor, but I can buy a TENS device. Wouldn’t I make things worse just randomly sticking the electrodes to where I think, maybe, perhaps they should go?)
Yes, you can buy them OTC, but it should be noted they are best used with the advice of a health professional. Not only will this prevent any possible damage, but help alleviate/reduce any pain you are having. Pregnant women are also often offered the chance to rent these machines in preparation for their due date as another form of pain control.
This is probably going to get into Great Debate territory, but it’s not going to be easy to answer that particular question.
There seems to be a bunch of anecdotal evidence that these devices are effective at reducing pain, but the few studies I can find references to seem to indicate their value is limited to the placebo effect.
That last one seems to be a summary of a study published in JAMA about a therapy called PENS, or Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. I actually haven’t any idea exactly what that is, but in this study it seems to have had better success than no treatment, TENS, or exercise for treating lower back pain. In reference to TENS, it seems to show (as the other studies did) that the result was similar to no treatment (in this case the sham PENS).
So the question of their efficacy doesn’t seem to be completely resolved, but I am always leery of anything where the majority of the support comes from people who sell it or from customer testimonials, especially when combined with less than glowing reports from properly controlled studies.
This is exactly the problem I ran into when Googling. Lots of info, but mostly from less-than-objective sources. And few that explain the biology of what is actually going on.
I knew Dopers would come through with better links!
FTR, my SO picked up a Dr. Ho gizmo (cheap, over-the-counter TENS-like device) – to help satisfy curiosity.
My first instinct, of course, was to stick the electrode pads to my face to make the most funky facial expressions. (SO didn’t seem to like this.)
But I digress…
Experiment Part One: Sore muscles
My so had been dragging around lumber and had sore muscles. For general muscle stiffness/soreness. The gizmo had an effect similar to massage. At the highest setting, you can actually get some pretty good muscle contractions going. She said it felt as if someone had been kneading her muscle knots – increased blood flow to the area etc. She felt better the following morning than she usually does after a day of dragging around heavy stuff.
Experiment Part Two: Damaged Muscles
I have easily sprained wrsits. As my left one is presently in Ouch Mode, I stuck on the pads to see what would happen. While it was on, the gizmo did make it feel better, in a way that is similar to scratching a mosiquito bite – the larger stimulus seems to over-power the smaller, annoying one. The next day however, the damaged muscles seemed a little worse off. Not at all impressed by the workout. Definitely more tender, and not in a “good” way (like the owiness of sore muscles that are healing).
I definitely appreciate the links provided here. Very interesting – particulalry the “gate control theory.”