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A comment on TENS Units Not Working for Back Pain Says Study

Mark Deshaies — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:10:20 GMT

All great comments from people who do not suffer from chronic pain. I do....every minute of the day. I have tried surgery (nice try), Yoga (helped), drugs (got addicted to Vicodin...thanks Doc), physical therapy (emptied my wallet), chiropractic, (jury is out on that one), Ice (great in Maine in January), and TENS therapy...guess what, it helps! It's cheap, low impact and what the heck? I am not going to correct the underlying problem, unless I am born again with a better back so poo on you, TENS helps me on those really bad days!

A comment on TENS Units Not Working for Back Pain Says Study

Greg Webb — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:07:54 GMT

Mr. Olderman,

Excellent points! I understand what you are saying - the TENS unit only helps the symptom for a bit, but does not fix the problem. I suppose that it is kind of like taking an OTC pain pill that only masks the pain for a while, but may not help with the underlying problem, like torn muscles or tendons. I am glad you pointed that out because I was not thinking in those terms. Thanks for commenting again.

Greg Webb

A comment on TENS Units Not Working for Back Pain Says Study

Rick Olderman — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:56:47 GMT

I agree with you, Mr. Webb, that a TENS unit may provide relief. Pain relief can fall along a great spectrum however. What I am describing is fixing the reasons for the pain in the first place. A TENS unit does not change the underlying poor function of muscles, biomechanics, or movement deficiencies that cause pain. Instead they typically "confuse" the brain so it doesn't focus on the pain signals coming from damaged tissue.
So, while pain relief is possible with a TENS unit, it typically doesn't address the root causes of pain.
I don't disagree with physicians that the units Aren't causing more damage.

A comment on TENS Units Not Working for Back Pain Says Study

Greg Webb — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:53:49 GMT

Mike,

Thank you for the comment. I agree with you. I often wonder about these studies; I think it is important to know who is funding them and who is actually running them. As I indicated earlier in a response to Mr. Olderman, I have had several clients swear by the pain relief they received from the TENS unit. Maybe it depends upon the individual? I appreciate your insight into this matter.

Greg Webb

A comment on TENS Units Not Working for Back Pain Says Study

Greg Webb — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:46:59 GMT

Mr. Olderman,

This guideline was surprising to me. I have had several clients of mine who used TENS units for low back pain and said the units were helpful in relieving pain. Perhaps this is a situation where each person's anatomic differences do make a difference in efectiveness. Regardless, I think it is important to note that physicians are apparently saying there is no harm in using the units. It will be interesting to see how this particular area of pain relief therapy progresses in the future. Thank you for reading the blog and commenting.

Greg Webb

A comment on TENS Units Not Working for Back Pain Says Study

Mike Bryant — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 14:01:22 GMT

These studies are always of interest, but it makes yu wonder about the real world cases where clients have been helped by TENS units. I assume the defense will now jump all over this as some reason to argue fraud or make this the plaintiffs fault. I have seen a lot of things help and have always believed that there is no perfect solution. More problems come when doctors lock into single solutions.

A comment on TENS Units Not Working for Back Pain Says Study

Rick Olderman — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:06:17 GMT

This isn't surprising to me. I'm a physical therapist specializing in treating chronic pain and I never use TENS, ultrasound, ice, or heat. Instead fixing chronic pain issues, whether they are back, neck, hip etc involves correcting anatomical, biomechanical, and movement-based function. This is usually simple to do but most people don't understand the anatomy involved.

A comment on Ghostwriting Issues Abound in Scientific, Medical Publications

Mike Bryant — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:23:56 GMT

This information is so troubling and actually attacks a number of medicines most important pillars. How many pills were given, procedures preformed and lives affected based on this questionable authority? Were there cases that turned on this information? There are so many questions that come up. Hopefully, the shining of a light on what happen will prevent it from ever happening again.

A comment on Family Medicine Doctor Numbers Declining

Greg Webb — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:58:39 GMT

Dr. Bowman,

Thank you for taking the time to comment to the blog. Clearly, you have a command of a lot of data.

Greg

A comment on Family Medicine Doctor Numbers Declining

Greg Webb — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 12:00:20 GMT

Mike,

I agree. I would think supply and demand would help alleviate this problem.

Greg