TENS therapy for lower back pain

TENS therapy for lower back pain: A proven, drug-free solution for chronic discomfort

Let’s face it – chronic lower back pain is no joke, and when studies reveal effective strategies for reducing or managing this type of condition, then it may be worth investigating like when the International Journal of Surgical Technology undertook an analysis of TENS therapy for lower back pain in 2016 and found that TENS therapy resulted in less back pain for the patients who took part in the study. The research also found that TENS therapy reduced the medication used by these patients. This study shows that there are numerous benefits for choosing TENS and PEMF therapy as one of your pain management strategies.

According to research, TENS therapy may provide a safe alternative to lower back pain therapy because studies have shown that, unlike the medications and anti-inflammatories normally prescribed for chronic lower back, TENS therapy is not addictive and has no side effects.

In fact, many practitioners are now starting to accept TENS therapy as a viable therapy option where medications are no longer effective and some practitioners even prescribe TENS therapy as an additional therapy along with conventional medication.Only last year, the FDA strengthened its warning about the use of NSAIDS for pain, stating that the use of NSAIDS can potentially cause heart attacks or strokes or increase your risks of these conditions by up to 50%. If you are constantly reaching for those over the counter medications that contain ibuprofen and diclofenac, then it may be time to consider investing in your own TENS machine to help reduce your risks and side-effects, and to save you some money at the same time.

Studies published in 2015 also found that TENS therapy for lower back pain was not only useful for reducing pain, but also had an impact on a patient’s wallet. Sadly, it is often the cost of treatment rather than the efficacy that begins to convince medical regulators to consider alternatives and in this case, TENS therapy is consistently being shown to be both effective in terms of the therapy and cost-effective in terms of savings on medication. TENS therapy reduces the number of visits needed to refill prescriptions. When the cost of lower back pain care averages $30 billion a year, cost savings begin to become extremely important to the medical administration.

In a study published by the same journal in 2015, a study of 22 913 patients’ records revealed that TENS therapy for lower back pain resulted in significantly fewer patients needing opioids a year after the study began. The study found that TENS patients used fewer medicines and had fewer patient events and this led to significant savings on a per patient basis. The study concluded by recommending physicians “be more aggressive in treating” chronic lower back pain patients with TENS therapy.

In fact, there seems to be an explosion of the use of TENS therapy for lower back pain over the last year or two.

Here are just three of the studies done on this type of condition:

• Tens therapy and Interferential Current therapy were both effective for lower back pain.
• Electrical and magnetic therapies showed potential as a tool for pain management in chronic spinal cord injuries.
• Tens patients required less medication, had fewer hospital visits, required less diagnostic imaging like x-rays and scans and even required less back surgery.

Circulation as a benefit of PEMF and TENS therapy for lower back pain

Any injury, and indeed overall health, depends on a healthy circulatory system. Circulation plays a pivotal due role in the healing of injuries in that it provides vital nutrients to the site of injury and it plays a role in removing the waste products from the site of injury to support healing.

A paper published in 2012 reviewed numerous studies on TENS and the effects of TENS therapy on wound healing. Although the overall conclusions of the review were inclusive due to insufficient data, the review stated that the clinical studies on wound healing were conclusive, showing benefits of 60% reduction in wound size, increases in blood flow of up to 35% in ulcers, and faster healing rates. TENS therapy and the increase in blood flow even decreased the numbers of re-amputations in patients with diabetes.

An improvement in circulation is therefore essential for overall health and also plays a role in healing, which in turn will help to reduce the amount of pain in the long term.

Additional Benefits of TENS therapy for Lower Back Pain

As mentioned above, the benefits of TENS therapy for lower back pain don’t only involve pain relief either. There are indirect benefits to you in terms of the cost of therapy, the savings as a result of a decrease in medication and decreased visits to the doctor, and then there are the unseen benefits like avoiding the risks and dangers associated with medications which may lead to increased risks of heart attacks and strokes.

In fact, one study conducted based on patient interviews found that the indirect benefits of TENS therapy for chronic lower back pain included enhanced physical function, an enhanced ability to get enough rest, and other physiological benefits too.