Choosing the Right TENS Unit: Key Features & Considerations

A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit is a device designed to relieve pain through the application of a mild electrical current. Criteria, or standards, for a TENS unit include sound basic operation and effective delivery of treatment.

Basic Operation

• The basic operating criterion of a TENS unit involves the transmission of an electrical current from a power supply through a series of wires connected to electrode patches, which are placed on the patient's skin near the source of pain, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS).

Effectiveness

• Doctors also use effectiveness of treatment as a main criterion for use of a TENS unit, SpineUniverse notes. Typically, they use a trial course of TENS treatment to see if a patient gains significant pain relief.

Placement

• TENS electrodes should not be positioned over the heart, brain, throat or eyes, the ACS reports.

Prescription Use

• Individuals wishing to use a TENS unit must first obtain a prescription from their doctor, according to SpineUniverse.

Considerations

• Doctors may also use a TENS unit to deliver steroid medications to soft tissue, SpineUniverse reports. In this technique---called iontophoresis---the current from a TENS unit forces topical steroids into the skin.