Alternative for Chronic Pain Sufferers - the TENS Unit

If you have ever suffered from chronic pain you probably know all about naturopathic and painkilling drugs. And if you are anything like me, you wish there was a better way to cope with such pain than remaining dependent on drugs that can be harmful if not addictive to our bodies. Alternative methods for pain management have been around for centuries but in the past few decades a marvelous little device has been a growing theme for chronic pain sufferers who look for alternatives for pain relief.

To understand my legitimacy in writing this article, it may help to understand why I stand by this particular alternative that I will be mentioning shortly. Several months ago I was involved in a car accident that left me in a Trauma unit for three days. I suffered multiple injuries to my head, back and shoulder. After multiple high-end expensive tests, two surgeries, several months of on-going physical therapy, and several refills of Oxycontin and various muscle relaxers later; I had begun to get fed up with pain coping and reliance on medically approved narcotic drugs.

Suffering from a torn rotator cuff, a slow healing dislocated clavicle (collar bone), and a lower back injury resulting in sciatica (irritation of the sciatic nerve), my physical therapist and doctors all agreed that it was time to use what is called a TENS unit.

TENS stands for Transcutaneous (TRANS-Q-TAIN-E-US) Electrical Nerve Stimulation. It's a tiny little device designed to send electrical impulses to your brain, while interrupting various nerves and pain receptors that receive and transmit pain signals from whatever part of your body that is injured and hurting. The device itself is adjustable in how fast, how frequent, and how much electric impulses are transmitted, and uses electrodes that can be placed virtually almost anywhere where you are feeling pain.