Thursday, October 20, 2011

Only one nerve left -The use of TENs units in FM

T.E.N.S. stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. It is a device that transmits electrical pulse to the underlying nerves to block the pain impulse.

As many as 90% of fibromyalgia patients have comorbid myofascial pain syndrome/chronic myofascial pain from myofascial trigger points, a muscle to nerve problem which perpetuates central sensitization in fibromyalgia. These myofascial trigger points are great neurological imitators. Blocking these painful impulses and input to the brain may help.

The TENs unit certainly does help me, but others tell me they have too much sensitivity. For these folks it is important to know that interferential and micro-current stimulators are available and have shown benefit. (This is discussed in length in chapter 4, “My Body is Matter and it Matters.”)

*There are specific cautions and contraindications for some patients, be sure to follow the advice of your therapist and the warnings included with the TENs unit

All blogs, posts and answers are based on the work in Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by Celeste Cooper, RN, and Jeff Miller, PhD. 2010, Vermont: Healing Arts press and are not meant to replace medical advice.

Resources:

Ge HY, Wang Y, Danneskiold-Samsøe B, Graven-Nielsen T, Arendt-Nielsen L. The predetermined sites of examination for tender points in fibromyalgia syndrome are frequently associated with myofascial trigger points. J Pain. 2010 Jul;11(7):644-51. Epub 2009 Nov 14.

Hubbard JE. Myofascial Trigger Points: What Physicians Should Know about these Neurological Imitators Minn Med. 2010 May;93(5):42-5.

Löfgren M, Norrbrink C. Pain relief in women with fibromyalgia: a cross-over study of superficial warmth stimulation and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. J Rehabil Med. 2009 Jun;41(7):557-62.


Nijs J, Meeus M, Van Oosterwijck J, Roussel N, De Kooning M, Ickmans K, Matic M. Treatment of central sensitization in patients with 'unexplained' chronic pain: what options do we have? Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2011 May;12(7):1087-98. Epub 2011 Jan 22.

Rodríguez-Fernández AL, Garrido-Santofimia V, Güeita-Rodríguez J, Fernández-de-Las-Peñas C. Effects of burst-type transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation on cervical range of motion and latent myofascial trigger point pain sensitivity. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2011 Sep;92(9):1353-8.

1 comment:

tens said...

tens unit

Tens machine is the transmits electrical pulse to the underlying nerves to block the pain impulse.nice post thanku for sharing

Celeste's Website

Celeste's Website
Click on the picture