TENS unit

perfectbluebuildings, BSN, RN · Jan 13, 2006

Not me, but a friend uses one sometimes for arthritis.

And a patient with Stiff Man Syndrome I cared for last year, on a neuro floor, used hers quite a bit and seemed to find some relief.

froghair · Jan 13, 2006

heres a tip if your doing an ecg on someone with chest pain make sure there not wearing a tens unit as it shows up like pacing spikes.......... i got caught out like this one time when i knew the patient didnt have a pacemaker it took me 2 ecg machines and alot of head scratching to work it out

farishtaRN · Jan 13, 2006

I had a serious back injury (from catching a falling patient) that required 3 surgeries in the end. However in between surgeries (and before the first one) I had a number of epidurals (which were not affective at all - but we later discovered that because of the type of injury, they would never have made any difference). I used a TENS unit for a number of months and found it to be moderatly helpful. It did help to keep my muscles from getting even tighter and more spasmed then they all ready where (which is certainly a good thing). My biggest problem with it was that my body became more and more accustomed to the electrical pulses and I eventually couldn't get the unit high enough to do anything for me. I would recommend experimenting with the placement of the electrodes; it can make a HUGE difference, depending on where they are placed. Best of luck to you - I am finally seeing the light after over 2 years of pain, so I understand what it is like.