Q: I’ve been having intermittent pain on the outer hip area for several weeks, worse when I’m walking up even a gradual slope or on a level surface.
I was telling a friend about it and he suggested I buy a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) unit, which can be obtained without a prescription; it arrived in the mail a few days ago, but the instructions that came with it are very brief and not very useful. Can you help me use it correctly?
A: I can! TENS units work by suppressing the conduction of impulses through pain fibers from the site of your pain to the spinal cord.
This occurs when the sensory nerve endings surrounding the area of pain are repeatedly stimulated by an extremely low-voltage electrical current, which the TENS unit supplies.
These units come with a supply of different sized adhesive pads that are applied to the skin and can be removed, stored back on the plastic sheet they came on, and reapplied up to 30 times without losing their effectiveness. Each pad is connected to the unit by a very thin wire long enough to extend from the pad (wherever it is applied) to the unit, which has a clip that can be worn on the belt/waistband of one’s clothing or can be carried in a pocket.
For maximum effectiveness, use the largest pads that come with the device, which are usually about 1.5” x 3.5”.
Use pads in pairs. Place one pad horizontally about an inch closer to your body core than the area of maximal discomfort and the other pad parallel to it on the other side of the painful spot, so that the closest edges of the two pads are about two inches apart.
Once the pads are firmly adhered to the skin, carefully press the one-inch-long electrode wire end into the tubular plastic end of the wire projecting from one end of each pad. The other end of the wire is permanently attached to a jack that plugs into a port on top of the TENS unit. Make sure the unit is off before plugging the wire into it.
The wearer of the unit MUST be the one who turns the unit on because only the wearer can determine the correct volume at which to set the unit, which is when the wearer can feel an intermittent tingling sensation under and around the pads.
Very slowly turn the settings up until the tingling becomes uncomfortable, then lower it just a bit. TENS units can be worn during the day or through the night, depending upon when the discomfort is most bothersome.
TENS units use a 9-volt battery, which will last 5-6 hours of constant use. If you’re planning to use it longterm, it’s a good idea to buy rechargeable batteries and a battery charger.
I want to thank Ronald F. for this question. If you have any particular topic you would like to hear more about, please message me at paulmdake@gmail.com.
To learn more about this and many other health topics, visit the American Academy of Family Physicians’ website familydoctor.org, where you can click on the Search box in the upper right corner of the website, and enter your topic of interest.
Dr. Paul Dake, a Newberry native, is a retired family physician. He lives in Pinconning, Michigan.
