OTHER PAIN TREATMENT: SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT TIENS
How does TENS relieve pain?
Two possible ways to explain the effectiveness of TENS in the relief of pain seem to be the ‘Gate Theory’ and the theory that TENS increases the liberation of endorphin in the blood and spinal fluid.
According to the gate theory, there is a gate between the source of the pain and the area of the brain which perceives the pain, and normal non-painful sensations pass through this gate from the source of pain to the brain. As a result of treatment with TENS the strength of these sensations can be increased enough to squeeze out the pain impulses and permit the gate to block them. According to the other theory, the increase in the liberation of endorphin by TENS acts to block the transmission of pain impulses to the brain.
Can TENS be used for all kinds of pain?
According to world literature there seems little doubt that TENS will block out many forms of pain, such as that caused by childbirth, surgery, trauma, organic lesions and arthritis.
However, it is important to realise that pain may well be a useful and important warning that something is wrong with a person’s body. To block out such pain would be ignoring that warning and could be harmful.
Can TENS become addictive?
When someone has chronic pain, the cause of which cannot be treated directly, he or she may have to take pain pills for a long time. In such a case there is a real hazard of addiction to the medication requiring increasing doses to achieve an effect. As well, there are other possibly undesirable side-effects to some medications. There is no evidence that TENS is addictive.
Can TENS cure a pain or make it worse?
It is very difficult in advance to know what effect TENS will have on pain, because there are many kinds of pain and many causes. Those with a certain kind of pain will not react in the same way. Despite this it is probably safe to say that it is unlikely that TENS will ever make a pain worse. At most clinics where TENS is used the results are that some will achieve partial relief after two to three treatments, others complete relief after 3 or 4 weeks and suffered recurrence of the pain between one or two years later, and still others only felt relief while the machine was being used. This latter group requires continuous stimulation to obtain relief of their pain.
*109\37\8*
Add A Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.