TREATMENT DATABASE

TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is the topical application of an electrical stimulus to a peripheral nerve in order to control pain. The TENS machine was developed after the "gate" model of pain was developed. Pain researchers believed that when nerves are overstimulated, the pain message stops (the assumption being that the brain cannot process sensory input from so many "gates"). The stimulation from TENS is supposed to "drown out" the pain felt in a nerve. Some have also proposed that the reason TENS works is not because the nerve is overstimulated but because the electrical stimulation prompts the release of pain-killing endorphins. Whether the relief is through nerve overstimulation or chemistry, the result is the same—pain is relieved.

Several studies have found that TENS is useful for treating pain in post-operative patients, for arthritis, and chronic back pain. An equal number have not found evidence of efficacy beyond placebo. What needs to remembered is that pain is a purely subjective experience; it cannot be measured by any objective means (e.g., blood tests, CT scans). Moreover, people have varying pain thresholds; what is painful for one person, may not be for the next. This makes it difficult to measure the effectiveness of any pain treatment.

USES IN ME/CFS: TENS has been recommended for patients with fibromyalgia pain, that is, pain generated by trigger points and nerve irritation.

Treatment rating for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)