Is there or should there be a concern for patient who have had metal implants inserted and then start using a tens or interferential unit?

This is a question that has been asked many times over the past half century as both the field of implant technology improved as did the field of electrotherapy for pain, rehab., and non union fractures. The question is a fair one to ask not only from a safety perspective but also from the other angle of does an implant enhance the efficacy of an external tens stimulator or interferential machine.

Basically the implant is outside the electrical field of a tens unit so there is no effect generally. Also many new composites for implants do not have metal or electrically conductive materials in them so over the next few years the question may become moot. Tens units are powered by a 9 volt battery and lack enough energy to penetrate deeply into the tissues but with the advent of Interferential for home use the chances of interference become more pragmatic.

A tens/tns unit emits no more than 150 pulses per second ( how many times the unit goes off and on per second - pps/rate/freqeuncy ) however an interferential unit has a pps between 8,000 and 8,150 pps with greater penetration. The higher frequency and greater output bring into play the depth of penetration issue and does an underlying metal object help or hurt the treatment.

Most tens and interferential devices are used principally for the control, or elimination, of chronic pain such as sciatica, RSD, neuralgia, phantom limb pain etc. The treatment with interferential though is for short periods of time due to the interferential unit providing ” carryover pain relief ” or residual pain relief. The interferential unit is not generally worn by a chronic pain patient, unlike tens which only provides relief while being used.

To date there are not any true safety issues brought on by the use of interferential or tens units with patients having implanted metal devices. The single issue has been does the stimulation cause any degree of discomfort to the patient while being treated and if so the practical answer is to move the electrodes so the implant will not interfere with the sensory relief provided by the interferential or tens unit. It’s possible if the pain area is near the implant that the conductivity of the materials used may actually enhance the pain relief.

When an interferential unit is used for home use it is generally assumed the short treatment period versus the continual treatment with tens lessens the potential of implant interference with an interferential unit.

Source:ezinearticles.com

What is TENS pain relief and how does it relate to someone in pain? TENS is an acronym for a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit. A TENS unit is a portable, pocket-sized, battery-powered device that uses mild, safe electrical signals to help control pain. One of these units can treat many kinds of pain. A modern TENS pain unit is easy to use and compact enough to provide quick and dependable pain relief at work, home or play.

The electrical signals travel from the TENS unit through wires to the electrodes which are attached to your body. The electrode wires are then plugged into the unit. The unit is then hooked to your belt or placed in a pocket. For some chronic pain patients, TENS pain relief can last for several hours. For others, a TENS pain unit may help reduce the amount of pain medications needed.

A TENS pain unit is one of several kinds of electrotherapy devices that use very small doses of electric current to promote natural pain relief. A typical battery-operated TENS unit is able to modulate pulse width, frequency and intensity. When the unit is turned on, it delivers a light current through the electrodes to the skin and tissues just beneath it.

The unit emits low - voltage electrical pulses through electrodes attached to the body. The TENS unit works by preventing pain signals from reaching your brain. Depending on the frequency the unit delivers, the electrical stimulation can also trigger the body to release endorphins, which are natural pain killers. A physical therapist can help you determine the most appropriate settings for your unit.

Do not turn your TENS unit up too high as this can cause over-stimulation which may make pain worse. Do not get into water or sleep with the electrodes on your skin and the TENS unit turned on. If you wear a pacemaker check with your physician before using a TENS unit as this may interfere with the pacemaker’s function.

TENS units can be purchased or rented. The cost of a unit can range from about $100 to several hundred dollars. A TENS pain unit should only be used under the direction of a doctor, physical therapist, or occupational therapist.

If you suffer from chronic back pain, arthritis, tendinitis, aches and pain, poor circulation, sciatic nerve pains, headaches, migraines and other discomforts a TENS unit may help relieve some of your pain. TENS pain relief is not a cure, it simply gives the impression of experiencing less pain. These units are widely used in the physical therapy field to help patients control their pain while they rehabilitate their muscles. TENS pain relief units are considered safe when used properly and have helped many people.

Source:ezinearticles.com

As more and more alternative medicine is becoming popular, it’s not surprising that people would shy away from drugs to ease their pain and look for something that isn’t as likely to have side effects. The TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) machine is one of the more popular methods for easing pain and can now be found easily on the market.

While TENS can aid with all types of pain relief, it is particularly popular among those who suffer from chronic pain and who are usually becoming resistant to pharmaceutical painkillers. Using stronger and stronger drugs in order to make it through the day doesn’t mesh with everyone’s philosophy and that’s why they start looking for alternatives like TENS.

How It Works
Essentially, TENS machines work by shooting electrical pulses through electrodes that are attached to the skin. These pulses interrupt the electrical signals that are sent to the brain to let it know that your body is hurting. By interrupting them, the pain is eased or even eliminated.

There are two ways the TENS machine is thought to work:

Low Frequency: The lower frequencies, 2-5 Hz, are believed to cause the body to react. The reaction creates natural painkillers, or endorphins. The endorphins block the pain naturally and while popular, this isn’t the usual method of using TENS.

High Frequency: For more intense pain, higher frequencies, 90-130 Hz, work to actually interrupt those pain signals being sent to the brain. This is the most common use for the machine and while you start slow, it’s not uncommon to need to up the frequency to find the best block.

How to Use It
Your machine should come with detailed instructions, which should be followed. However, there are some general use instructions that we can list here. Make sure the machine is off before applying the electrodes. You can test to ensure that it’s working by turning it on while holding the pads in your fingers. If it tingles, it’s working.

When putting the electrode pads on, be sure to avoid any sensitive or irritated areas and only apply to clean skin on either side of the pain. Electrodes need to be covered in conductive gel and must be placed at least an inch apart, preferably a little further. Tape them down if you plan to be moving around much. Turn the machine on at its lowest setting and gradually turn it up until you can feel the tingle.

You will need to feel a fairly strong sensation, but not painful. If the current causes muscles to contract, turn it down. The length of the session is up to you. It will need to be at least 45-60 min. but you can safely use the machine for up to 12 hours. At the end of the session, turn it off and remove the pads.

Who Can Use TENS
This technology isn’t best for everyone. Some people get more of a benefit than others and some won’t notice much of a difference in pain levels at all when using TENS. Also, if you are pregnant, have a pacemaker, epilepsy or a heart disease, you should stay away from this type of treatment. In some cases, TENS is used during labor, but in this case, you would need to consult a doctor.

As an alternative pain treatment, you’ll find that this works best on muscle pains, or those in the joints or caused by nerves. The electrical pulses are far less effective on things like headaches, chest pains or stomachaches and intestinal issues. That being said, there aren’t any real side effects from the use of this machine, so you can certainly experiment to find out whether or not it works for you. TENS can be a useful alternative to drugs. It’s worth trying if you suffer from chronic pain.

Source: articlesnatch.com

Back pain can be tackled in many ways. You can not depend upon the merit of any one type of treatment, to get rid of back pain. When you have back pain and when it does not subside for days together, you are so confused you are willing to follow any type of therapy that offers you hope of relief.

Well, it is the machine again that has come to the rescue of the humanity. For taking care of the lower back pain TENS machine (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) is used with much benefit. Powered by the batteries that send mild electric pulse through the nerves, to block the pain signals is transmitted to the brain. The pressure felt in the affected area where the pain was located is relaxed. But the cost of such treatments is on the high side, which bars many from availing the treatment.

It is not that the TENS machine is the panacea for your back pain and once you have availed the services of this machine, you are free from your back pain for ever. Proper lifestyle and taking care of little things, which you consider as insignificant, is the indirect part of your treatment.

Be disciplined when you sit, stand or lift things. Don’t do things casually, without paying proper attention. If you sit on a properly non-aligned chair that could itself be the cause of your back pain. While picking up anything from the ground, bend from the knees in a relaxed manner, and not the stiff bend by just using the back. Do not put stress on the lower muscles of your back.

If the popularity of the machine is any indication, the TENS machine has done well. To many it has given total relief, to some partial. And as it is a case with all other therapies to treat back pain, to some there is no relief at all. Nevertheless, this TENS treatment has caught the imagination of the sufferers.

Even if one man is treated, it is one less patient of back pain! Further research is being carried out to judge the effectiveness of the machine, as part of the modern day medicine. At the existing level, the relief in pain provided by the machine varies from person to person.

The TENS machine works in two ways. The machine will trigger the pain gate to close when it is set on a high pulse rate of 90-130 Hz which it is believed, will block the pain nerve path to the brain. This can be said to be its normal functioning. When the machine is set on a low pulse rate, 2-5 Hz, it will cause the body to make its own pain easing chemicals called endorphins.

The main advantage of using the TENS machine is thatFree Reprint Articles, that there are no side effects. But this treatment is strictly to be taken under the guidance and supervision of the physician only.

Source: articlesfactory.com

Pain management is a growing and changing industry. A safe, effective, non-addictive treatment seems like the unreachable Holy Grail, but many patients feel they have found it through the use of TENS units. Treatments which were once thought to be quack medicine is now proving to be as effective and safer than many of the current drug therapies. There is an increasing need for managing pain as the baby boomer generation begins to age and chronic, age related aches and pains begin to arise. Rather than turning to costly and potentially dangerous pain medications, many patients are looking for other ways to alleviate their pains, such as can be found in the use of TENS and portable TENS units.

T.E.N.S. units stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. Transcutaneous literally means across the skin. These units work to alleviate pain by sending a mild electrical pulse through the skin to stimulate the nerves beneath. The specific nerves targeted will determine the area of pain relief. When using these, the patient should be sure to use a cream that is designed especially to help conduct electricity from the unit through his skin. This will increase the effectiveness of the treatment. While the treatment must be repeated every few hours for continual pain management, there are portable devices to make this more convenient for the patient. Portable TENS units should be lightweight and easy to carry. In many cases they can be worn next to the skin. If this is the case, the units need to either be battery operated or rechargeable.

Pain easement in almost any part of the body can come from using a TENS unit. There are certain body parts where a physician should supervise the use of the unit in order to prevent injury. In cases of pain in the neck and head, the patient should first consult with his physician. The doctor might even have a unit for the patient to use in his office. In any case, patients should never use a TENS or portable TENS unit on their face, head, or neck without discussing it with a physician. All of the nerves in your body converge on the brain in your head. Many nerves that control the heart and other vital body operations run through the head, and without a doctor’s supervision, the patient might stimulate the wrong nerve, which could lead to injury. Additionally, patients who are equipped with pace makers should not use electrical nerve stimulation since the charge could interfere with the pace maker’s operation. Those who are pregnant, nursing, have diabetes, metallic body part replacements or plates, have heart conditions or high blood pressure should talk to their physician before using electrical stimulation of the nerves.

TENS units are not a permanent solution for chronic pain and may result in gradually decreasing benefits when used over a prolonged period of time. TENS units may also mask the pain while having minimum impact of the treatment of the injury. TENS units are not recommended as a substitute for regimented physical rehabilitation therapy programs, but may be used in parallel with physical therapy. Most stationary TENS or portable TENS units require a doctor’s prescription. Since settings and options vary from unit to unit, always consult with a doctor or a chiropractor about the proper use of your TENS unit.

Source: add-articles.com

There are many ways to deal with the pain of giving birth, but women and their obstetricians can always benefit from having another choice. A Cochrane review has concluded that women in labor should have the option of using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) a non-drug method of pain management.

“There is only limited evidence that TENS reduces pain in labor and it does not seem to have any negative or positive impact on other outcomes for mothers and babies. However the majority of women in the reported studies have indicated that they would be willing to use TENS for a subsequent pregnancy,” said Tina Lavender, a review co-author and a professor of midwifery at the University of Manchester, in England.

Widely used in other areas of medicine, the TENS unit is a small device that emits low- voltage electrical pulses through electrodes attached to the body. The exact way the pulses work is unknown, but they are thought to block pain transmission by stimulating nerve pathways in the spinal cord. During labor, clinicians usually place the electrodes on the lower back, but they can also attach them at acupuncture points or to the head.

For the review, researchers analyzed 19 randomized controlled studies that examined the use of TENS during labor. The studies involved 1,671 women and occurred in 11 countries, with three studies in the United States. Fifteen studies examined TENS applied to the back, two to acupuncture points and two to the head. Studies compared TENS use to routine care, to the use of a sham TENS unit or to other types of pain management, either medications or other techniques.

Women in labor who received TENS were less likely to say they had severe pain compared to the other women. However, this difference was not great and was not consistent across the studies, nor did the studies show that women receiving TENS were more satisfied with their pain relief than those who did not use TENS.

The new review appears in the latest issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews like this one draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.

Lavender and her colleagues noted that it is possible that using TENS gave the women a feeling of control over their pain and served as a distraction. They concluded that women should have the option of using it during labor, with or without other forms of pain management.

No one has data on how widespread the use of TENS in obstetrics is, Lavender said, noting that one British study found that about 16 percent of low-risk women having their first baby used TENS during their labor. Generally, TENS works with other forms of pain management during labor, such as epidural anesthetics.

“TENS is not widely used in the U.S., largely because the pain relief offered is modest and TENS units are not frequently available on labor and delivery units,” said Laura Goetzl, M.D., an associate professor of obstetrics and oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston.

“There is no barrier to patients arranging for a TENS unit for themselves and using it in labor; however, the cost to the patient may not be worth the benefit over other treatments that are more likely to be covered by her insurance,” she said. Obstetricians usually support any method of pain relief a woman wants to use as long as it is not harmful to the mother or her baby and as long as it does not conflict with the policies of the admitting hospital, Goetzl said.

TENS units are not expensive, about 30 British pounds to rent and 50 pounds to buy in the United Kingdom, according to Lavender, and about $50 to $80 to rent for a week in the United States, according to an Internet search.

Source: medicalnewstoday.com

An ultrasound machine uses high frequency sound waves and their resulting echoes to help determine the size, shape and depth of an abnormality. It allow various organs in the body to be examined right in the doctor’s office or clinic.
A basic ultrasound machine has the following parts:

* The Display - it is the most recognizable part of any unit. As the operator manipulates the transducer probe (we’ll talk about that next), it send out and receives data that is processed by the CPU and it’s software. That data is translated into visual information that displayed on the monitor or display. The clarity of the images depends on the age and resolution of the display.
* Transducer Probe - The probe is the eyes and ears of the ultrasound. The probe sends sound waves into the patient and receives the reflected vibrations. As the vibrations travel into the patient, they bounce back at different intervals depending on what the bounce off of. The transducer probe collects this information and moves it along to the CPU.
* Central Processing Unit (CPU) - The CPU is a computer that uses specialized software that interprets the sound waves that are returned to the transducer probe. It translated the data into an image or a series of images, allowing doctors and technicians to view the affected body part or parts.
* The Keyboard - Since it is a specialized computer, ultrasound machines have a keyboard much like a regular computer. It allows the operator to enter patient information or particular findings during the procedure.
* Hard Drive Storage - Like a regular computer, an ultrasound is capable of storing information for later retrieval. The information can be stored on the internal hard drive or on a CD or a DVD. the information can also be stored digitally and uploaded to the internet, so that it can be accessed from the office or anywhere you have an Internet connection.
* Printer - During the ultrasound procedure, the operator can print images for later study or that can be taken home by the patient, usually by expecting parents.
* Video Recorder - some ultrasound have the capability to record the procedure as it happens. This type of  recorder is specifically designed for medical applications. Its digital frame memory provides a noiseless, crystal clear “freeze” and is fully compatible with other S-VHS (or VHS) tape recordings. Like the printer, it allows expecting parents to take home a record of the development of their child.
Depending on the make and model of the ultrasound, there may be additional parts or options. Some suppliers offer options, like an endovaginal and endorectal transducers, that offer higher resolution than that of a traditional abdominal transducer. Because they can produce a scan close to the affected area, they can produce more accurate results. More features have been added to smaller, portable ultrasound machines, making them a versatile, powerful, lower-cost alternative for many doctors and clinics.
We should also mention the most important part of an ultrasound machine: the operator or sonographer. Sonographers are medical professionals who perform ultrasonic scans for diagnostic purposes. At times, the doctor and the sonographer are one in the same. The accuracy of the ultrasound exam and it’s results are dependent on the operator’s education, training, skill and experience. The more accurate the information from the exam, the more accurate the doctor’s diagnosis can be. The best ultrasound equipment that money can buy isn’t of much use unless you have the best qualified people operating it.
Do you have questions about a part of your ultrasound machine? Wave Imaging Solutions is a great place to turn to for questions and answers.
We are an OEM certified remanufacturer of used ultrasound equipment with cross-trained service professionals that are certified in multi-vendor capacities.
By adding the value of EOM Certification to our used ultrasound machines, our clients benefits from a very dependable ultrasound machine at a fraction of the price of a new one.

Source: ezinearticles.com

Electronic muscle stimulation is a technique that is widely used by elite athletes all over the world. It has been shown to be effective and successful toward toning and building muscle mass. This is why devices have been developed to accomplish this type of workout.
The way it works is fairly straight forward. The electrical impulses control the muscles via the motor nerves. Programming these impulses allows users to target their workouts for power, endurance, or resistance. Here, powerful contractions can be received without the pain of a traditional workout.
A microprocessor controls the work of the muscles, while adhering to the principles of traditional training physiology. Not only does electrical muscle stimulation help build muscles, but it also encompasses the toning and shaping that improves overall physical fitness. While it is not meant to take the place of a traditional workout, it can help supplement it and add to the benefits it can offer. It can also be a viable means of exercise for those who are unable to participate in the more traditional methods of exercise due to health problems or joint and muscle restrictions. It is advisable to consult a doctor before using an electronic muscle stimulation machine if this is the case.
Electronic muscle stimulation is effective for fitness training, as well as for muscle rehabilitation. It helps build endurance so that the muscles may be used for a longer period of time. The resistance it also provides, will assist in expanding the range of muscle movement and help to promote strength. The recovery process is also shortened by this method, as the patient is able to exercise in a non-restricted environment without too much strain or tension being place on the body.
This type of equipment has been successfully used in the physical therapy and sports medicine fields for many years, and has nothing to do with the various other pieces of exercise equipment that are commonly found on the market. As with any other workout, there are stages that must be accomplished in order to reap the full benefits of this type of program. Many machines also come with DVD-based training material that is designed to walk the user through the various steps involved in the process. Here, users will also be able to create an individualized training program that will best fit their individual needs. Before trying electronic muscle stimulation, it is advisable to check with a physician to make sure this is right for you.

Source: ezinearticles.com