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A Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator, more commonly referred to as a TENS unit and pronounced tens, is an electronic device that produces electrical signals used to stimulate nerves through unbroken skin. The name was coined by Dr. Charles Burton.^[1] The unit is usually connected to the skin using two or more electrodes. A typical battery-operated TENS unit consists of a pulse generator, small transformer, frequency and intensity controls, and a number of electrodes. TENS is an acronym that may refer to: TENS, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Nerves (yellow) Nerves redirects here. ... An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a metallic part of a circuit (e. ... Pulse generators can either be internal circuits or pieces of electronic test equipment used to generate pulses (electronic impulses). ... Figure 1:Three-phase pole-mounted step-down transformer. ...

Uses

TENS is considered a method of pain relief, and has a wide following for use in obstetric care, particularly labour. Nevertheless, there is little data on its actual efficacy, and some obstetricians maintain that it is ineffective. Pain therapy is treatment given to patients experiencing chronic or acute pain. ... Obstetrics (from the Latin obstare, to stand by) is the surgical specialty dealing with the care of a woman and her offspring during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (the period shortly after birth). ... Parturition redirects here. ...

In palliative care and pain medicine, TENS units are sometimes used in an attempt to alleviate neuropathic pain (pain due to nerve damage). Although results are modest, some patients benefit from this approach. However, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that TENS therapy was no more effective against chronic lower back pain than a placebo^[2]. Palliative care (from Latin palliare, to cloak) is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than providing a cure. ... Pain medicine is a branch of anaesthetics concerned with the treatment of acute and chronic pain. ... Neuropathy is a disease of the peripheral nervous system. ... Nerves (yellow) Nerves redirects here. ...

A suitable cream should be used to increase conductivity from the electrode to the skin. The position of the electrodes on the skin determine which nerve(s) is (are) stimulated.

TENS units are also used by the BDSM community for erotic play involving electrical stimulation. See also Violet wands. A collar is a common symbol in BDSM. Female bottom in bondage with leather monoglove BDSM is any of a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ... A violet ray or violet wand is a device used for the application of low current,high voltage (min 10kv to max 50kv typacally), high frequency electricity to the body using a Tesla coil, originally sold as a quack medical device claimed to be useful in electrotherapy, though, since the...

History

Electrical stimulation for pain control was used in ancient Greece, 63 A.D. It was reported by Scribonius Largus that pain was relieved by standing on an electrical fish at the seashore. In the 16th through the 18th century various electrostatic devices were used for headache and other pains. Benjamin Franklin was a proponent of this method for pain relief. In the 1900's a device called the electreat, along with numerous other devices were used for pain control and other quack applications such as cancer cures. Only the electreat survived into the twentieth century, but was not portable, and had limited control of the stimulus. Electrostatics is the branch of physics that deals with the force exerted by a static (i. ... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ...

The first modern, patient-wearable TENS was patented in the U.S.A. on June 18, 1974 (patent 3,817,254). It was initially used for testing the tolerance of chronic pain patients to electrical stimulation before implantation of electrodes in the spinal cord dorsal column.^[3] The electrodes were attached to an implanted receiver, which received its power from an antenna worn on the surface of the skin. Although intended only for testing tolerance to electrical stimulation, many of the patients got so much relief from the TENS itself that they never returned for the implant. Chronic pain was originally defined as pain that has lasted 6 months or longer. ... Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) or Dorsal Column Stimulator (DCS) is an implantable medical device used to treat chronic pain of neurologic origin. ...

A number of companies manufacturing TENS appeared after the commercial success of the Medtronic device became known. The neurological division of Medtronic, founded by Don Maurer, Ed Schuck and Dr. Charles Ray, developed a number of applications for implanted electrical stimulation devices for treatment of epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and other disorders of the nervous system. Maurer founded Empi, Inc. in 1977, and in the late 1980's purchased the TENS product line from Medtronic. Medtronic, Inc. ...

Safety

TENS Electrodes should never be placed:

• On or near the eyes
• In the mouth
• Transcerebrally (on each temple)
• On the front of the neck (due to the risk of acute hypotension through a vasovagal reflex)
• On areas of numb skin/decreased sensation
• On broken skin areas or wounds
• On or near the trigeminal nerve if you have a history of herpes zoster induced trigeminal neuralgia (Postherpetic neuralgia)

Do not turn TENS up too high as this can cause over-stimulation which may make pain worse. There should be no muscle contraction. Vasovagal syncope is the most common type of syncope (fainting). ... The trigeminal nerve is the fifth (V) cranial nerve, and carries sensory information from most of the face, as well as motor supply to the muscles of mastication (the muscles enabling chewing), tensor tympani (in the middle ear), and other muscles in the floor of the mouth, such as the... Herpes zoster, colloquially known as shingles, is the reactivation (from the general area of the spinal cord) of varicella zoster virus (VZV, primary infection of which leads to chickenpox), one of the Herpesviridae group, leading to a crop of painful blisters over the area of a dermatome. ... Trigeminal neuralgia, or Tic Douloureux, is a neuropathic disorder of the trigeminal nerve that causes episodes of intense pain in the eyes, lips, nose, scalp, forehead, and jaw. ... Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is a painful condition caused by the varicella zoster virus in a dermatomal distribution (the area governed by a particular sensory nerve) after an attack of herpes zoster (HZ) (commonly known as shingles), usually manifesting after the vesicles have crusted over and begun to heal. ...

TENS should also be used with caution in people with epilepsy or pregnant women (do not use over area of the uterus as the effects of electrical stimulation over the developing fetus are not known). TENS should not be used by people with cardiac pacemaker due to risk of interference and failure of their implanted device. Possible failure of these warnings can result in ventricular fibrillation. The contractions of the heart are controlled by electrical impulses, these fire at a rate which controls the beat of the heart. ... Ventricular fibrillation (V-fib or VF) is a cardiac condition which consists of a lack of coordination of the contraction of the muscle tissue of the large chambers of the heart that eventually leads to the heart stopping altogether. ...

In the situation where low frequency (or acupuncture-like) TENS is being used, it is necessary to increase the intensity of the stimulation to the point where a demonstrable muscle twitch is evident. This 2-6Hz (pulses per second) output increases the systemic release of endorphins which in turn cause pain relief.

See also

• Action Potential
• PTNS
• MENS
• SCENAR

A. A schematic view of an idealized action potential illustrates its various phases as the action potential passes a point on a cell membrane. ... Percutaneous Tibial Nerve Stimulation (PTNS) is a mechanical device used for the relief of urinary incontinence or other similar bladder dysfunctions, for example, Interstitial Cystitis (IC) and Over-Active Bladder (OAB). ... In Roman mythology, Mens personified thought, consciousness and the mind. ...

References

External links

• transcutaneous coupling for neural prostheses
• vestibular TENS for reducing post operative nausea and vomiting
• body area-specific differences in itch perception
• BBC article on TENS
• Inteli health