Many people who are chronically ill, for instance, with diabetes or cancer or who have suffered a traumatic injury, ultimately end up with a condition called neuropathy. Sufferers experience their nervous systems turning against them, randomly sending out pain signals that can range from merely uncomfortable tingling, to debilitatingly painful, stabbing sensations . Opioids and antidepressants can help, but these drugs have side effects which render them less-than-great choices. Acupuncture can be helpful, too, but generally speaking, chronic pain sufferers have few effective treatment options.
A recent study of a relatively new treatment addresses this concern and has proved promising for a few. The new therapy is called transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and is recommended for people who have neuropathy resulting from a spinal cord injury. This form of treatment involves placing electrodes (attached to a battery pack) on the skin along both sides of the spine at the level of and just above the spinal cord injury to deliver electrical current. The same technique has been used to treat other forms of chronic pain and muscle spasms.
Shocking But Effective
Twenty-four patients were given TENS units and taught to self-administer the treatment three times a day for 30 to 40 minutes at a time. They did this for two weeks at high frequency and then for another two weeks at low frequency.
Results: About one-third of the patients reported that their pain was reduced at least somewhat. 29% were helped by high-frequency stimulation and 38% by low-frequency stimulation. But six patients asked if they could keep their TENS units so they could continue the treatments themselves at home-clearly indicating that they experienced some benefit.
TENS may sound more like torture than treatment; you’d think that stimulating nerves that have already gone haywire would simply cause more pain. But Cecilia Norrbrink, RPT, PhD, in the department of clinical sciences at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, where the study was done, had this to say: ”TENS is not painful and it does work well for some people.” She also said that scientists believe it works by using the body’s own pain-inhibiting systems. She gave a very simplified explanation: High-frequency TENS activates large nerve fibers, which are the ones carrying nonpainful signals such as touch. Stimulating these nerve fibers releases transmitter signals in the spinal cord that can inhibit the pain signals coming from small nerve fibers. Low-frequency TENS, on the other hand, seems to activate neurons in the brain stem (where inhibitory pathways start) by releasing pain-blocking endorphins.
Another option: There’s a form of Japanese acupuncture that incorporates electrical stimulation through needles, according to contributing medical editor Andrew L. Rubman, ND. It is called electro-acupuncture, and it might be a good option to explore with your acupuncturist or naturopathic doctor.
Can You Do This At Home?
Side effects from the treatment are minimal. Some patients experience muscle spasms and others find the electrodes irritating to their skin. But those are minor complaints compared with the pain relief the treatments sometimes deliver. If you’re interested in exploring TENS treatment for neuropathic pain, discuss it with your doctor as there’s a long list of medical cautions that are considered contraindications for its use. If you are among the lucky ones, this might provide welcome relief from chronic pain.
Source(s):
Cecilia Norrbrink, RPT, PhD, department of clinical sciences, Danderyd Hospital, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
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Reprinted with the permission of:
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