TENS UNITS
Contents
1. TENS UNITS PURPOSE A Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator or TENS unit is designed to relieve post operative acute and chronic pain It is _ used for pain caused by peripheral nerves and not central TENS units are prescription only devices i FLL OPERATION TENS units work in a couple of ways The first way they are thought to work is by a method called the Gate Theory The Gate Theory states that our brains can only handle one stimulus at a time When you have chronic pain this pain signal is constantly being sent to your brain and recognized as pain When an electrical stimulus is added to the area of pain the body feels this electrical stimulus and since the brain can only handle one thing at a time the pain is not transmitted to the brain The second method thought to be part of TENS units success is by way of stimulating our own bodies to release their own natural painkillers TENS units do not work for everyone and results may vary Always follow the instructions and warnings in your user s manual USE A prescription is required to rent or purchase a TENS unit One of the most important tasks that must be performed is battery maintenance If you are using a nickel cadmium rechargeable battery always fully charge it and fully deplete it before charging it again These batteries can develop memories and by not performing this charging task correctly your battery s life can be greatly diminished If your battery doe2. rom your medical equipment supplier Your medical equipment supplier can set up a recurring delivery to accommodate your needs Electrodes should be replaced once a month and leadwires once every 6 months 2015 Aspirant Education Inc
3. s develop a memory you can help expand the memory by charging for 12 13 hours and then completely depleting the battery Always prepare the skin before applying electrodes Your skin should be clean and free of any lotions or creams If you are using electrodes that use conductive gel apply a small even layer over the electrode For carbon self adhesive electrodes apply a drop of water to the electrodes before applying to the skin The electrodes attach to the leadwires and then the TENS unit Always grasp the connector and not the cord when inserting or removing When making adjustments always make sure the unit s channels 1 and 2 are in the OFF position The actual settings should be recommended and prescribed by your physician Medical equipment suppliers don t set or instruct users as to user settings Continued 2015 Aspirant Education Inc When you are using the BURST mode the unit delivers a series of quick pulses followed by a rest This cycle repeats itself frequently Always have channels OFF before changing modes For MODULATION mode the stimulation automatically varies the width of the pulse For CONVENTIONAL mode the stimulation is constant After the settings have been fine tuned set the timer to 30 or 60 minutes Your physician should also prescribe the use time When the lights become dim it means your batteries should be replaced or recharged ACCESSORIES The electrodes and lead wires can be obtained f
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