TENS Units provide non-pharmaceutical pain control which could reduce dependency on discomfort medications. They are easy for patients to manage and can be worn during everyday activities such as at the office and during recreational activities. They’re inexpensive and non-addictive.

TENS units are simple to use with no risks associated with surgical procedures or heavy duty narcotic medications. Patients can think clearly with out living in a “narcotic fog”, thereby living more actively and productively.

The actual electrical stimulation through TENS machines reduces pain by stimulating peripheral nerves through what is termed the actual gate control system. The gate control theory of pain suggests that in the spinal-cord there is a control mechanism acting as a gate. There are several websites where you can find quality TENS units for sale but we recommend LGMedSupply.com

The Gate Manage theory was first launched in 1965 by Melzack and Wall in their Technology article “Pain Mechanisms: A New Theory”.

The electrical impulses from TENS units, according to this theory, represent a non-noxious input. This input inhibits pain by closing the gate to incoming noxious enter, such as pain through an arthritic back again. If the gate is actually closed by non-noxious stimuli, such as that supplied by TENS unit (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimuli), then the body will not be able to process the poisonous stimuli and pain will be therefore reduced.

Here’s a more detailed description. There are two types of tissue in the area of the spinal cord where signals enter into. One is “inhibitory” and the additional is “transmission”. Transmission tissue are activated through incoming signals so when a critical threshold degree is reached, pain starts as the entrance opens and the mind receives those signals and processes them as pain. The job of the inhibitory cells is to inhibit activation of the tranny cells, thereby closing the gate as well as keeping it closed. The job of a TENS unit is to inspire the inhibitory cells as well as close the gate.

TENS machines create two different present frequencies below the pain sensation threshold that are accepted by patients. By doing this, they close the actual gate rather than open it.