Anyone used TENS/EMS devices for chronic spine/nerve pain?

[moose eater]

Rarely had an addictive propensity or metabolism, other than for vociferousness/verbosity (an addiction that mostly affects others ;^>) ).

Unknown to many, only a minority of regular users of opiates get lassoed into that circular grist mill. But for those who are susceptible, it's a pain in the ass.

I just don't care for opiates much from the limited experience I had with them. Never saw what others liked of them. Was always into the other end of the scale.

Though there's some stout hypotheses out there, for a number of years now, that folks who are prone to that path, were often/maybe born with an inordinately greater number of opioid receptor sites, and feel pain more easily, perhaps even just as a way of being.

Some of them, in interviews, have stated that using heroin/opiates was the first time they think they felt what others regarded as normal. Assuming that's accurate (and I've no reason to doubt it at this time) then the criminalization of the drug war is just that much more of an inhumane approach to what is, or should be, a social or medical issue.

I've been blessed with there being few things I can't walk away from, other than in the past, maybe bad relationships. But that's another story altogether, born of different stimuli.. And the one I've had for nearly 3 decades is not one of them. ;^>)

 

[pop_rocks]

i think a lot of the addicts you hear about in the news are dealing with much more than physical discomfort and there is a strong mental component as well
/plus, some people are just more prone to addictions weather its drugs/alcohol, sex, video games, heck even exercise

i had an auntie who they wanted to fuse her vertebrae
she refused the surgery and instead endured months of painful PT
she is now stronger than ever and lives a good life with full range of motion
with the operation, she would have never been the same, (limited mobility and a lifetime of pain meds)
of course she still has discomfort every now and then but i would hate to imagine how things would be if she had gone through with the operation
for some, the surgery might be the only solution but she was lucky
sounds like you enjoy an active life and dont mind a little hard work, moose
im glad you have a son who is able to help and keep an eye on you out in the bush
you take care of yourself my man!

 

[moose eater]

Thanks. You too, pop.

And yep, back in the day, maybe 25-26 years ago, when I first tweaked my lumbar/lower back, my respected GP in a small rural town in Ak told me that there were more disabilities at that time born of corrective back surgeries than those who were made better off, preferring instead to assign specific exercises to me.

About 2 weeks after the current injuries (maybe going on 3-1/2 years ago now), there was intense, inexplicable pain, particularly in my legs and between my knees. It became lesser, more manageable, over the next several months, transitioning into the current strange electrical sense of who-knows-what as often as not.. And I suspect a brief learning of new exercises in PT assisted in some of the outcomes there, too.

When pain in the legs does (even minimally, in specific areas) raise its head, I sometimes get a little worried that it may come back, though it hasn't ever been like it was in the out-set 3-1/2 years ago.

One Doc stated that if able, nerves try to relocate or situate themselves into what ever journals remain, where they can function better, though typically never really as well off as they had been in the past.

Don't know if that's true, but in my case it -seems- true.

Nonetheless, all body parts degrade over time. No life-time warranties on any of it.

Nixon, in his search to further his drug war, and his administration somewhat embarrassed by reports of regular drug use among the troops in S.E. Asia, had folks do an extended study of those who'd routinely used opiates (heroin, opium, re-directed/misdirected morphine from Medic Kits, etc.), and I recall them finding that of all the troops who'd engaged in the specific behavior in question, ~4% returned to a life state-side that reflected the stereotypical lifestyle of the often-ridiculed elusive 'junkies' of that era.

There's a lot to be considered in those findings, assuming accuracy in them.

 

[pop_rocks]

i have nerve pain too,moose'
a lot of what you say sounds familular
/i know what its like being worried when you feel a little passing pain that it might grow into a major episode
the thing that has helped the most is just being active
the body was made to move and i try and do as much as i can
cold weather dosent help much either, but hey, neither does getting older
we just do what we can my brother

 

[TNTBudSticker]

TENS is Great.

Been using the TENS 3000 3 Mode Analog TENS Unit with Timer for under $30.00

I have no timer on mine since I got it like 2 years ago.
Really relaxes those tense muscles that TENS is needed.
Comes with Everything

 

[moose eater]

i have nerve pain too,moose'
a lot of what you say sounds familular
/i know what its like being worried when you feel a little passing pain that it might grow into a major episode
the thing that has helped the most is just being active
the body was made to move and i try and do as much as i can
cold weather dosent help much either, but hey, neither does getting older
we just do what we can my brother

I agree, pop.

I saw a somewhat mystical massage therapist maybe five years ago. She clearly didn't express all of her thoughts, metering them instead, but said I should walk.... a lot.

I spent years often carrying 100 lbs+ of gear, and walking up to 20+ miles/day. Some of that, farm work, logging, weight-lifting as part of alternative gym class in early high school (due to messed up knee caps), etc., all helped to bring me to the outcome I'm at. That, and poor posture, etc.

I think the guy's name is Robin MacKenzie, ('Treating Your own Back'). He's a Kiwi, older than the dinosaurs now, if he's still alive. His book and DVD are fairly insightful, and recommended by both Phys Therapists and neurologists alike. Good stuff. He covers minor exercises that can be done while sitting in a chair; a circumstance in which much of America (and the industrialized world) now make their livings doing, to one degree or another.

The issue with me, is that the proverbial guard-rails in all of this are; 1.) if I do too little movement, I get worse. 2.) if I do too much movement or exercise, I get worse. There's a 'Pavlovian' training thing experience that established a 'middle ground', where I became less active over all, but less apt to really over-do it when I -do- get going on things on the occasions when I get more active than I might.. A safe middle that may not be as helpful, in terms of conditioning.

We're just getting older, and the bill for past excesses comes in at this time of life for a lot of us.

One of the inside jokes here re. the body's warranty by what ever Supreme Being, resulted in off-cuff statements by me a few years back of "I want my money back!!" implying faulty workmanship at 'the factory.'

I made the mistake of stating that aloud at the neurosurgeon's office I was visiting a couple years ago, after he'd been seeing me for a very reasonable cash payment per visit, pending some change in insurance or other circumstances that might permit him to sharpen his blade and take a more serious look. Anyway, when I uttered the inside joke/family humor, he became indignant, and stated abruptly, knowing how little he'd been charging me to visit him, "WHAT MONEY??!!"


Of course, once you have to explain a punch line or joke, it's no longer funny.

His very charming and attractive PA understood, and enjoyed the humor after the Doc departed to the next patient, acknowledging my assessment of my neurodude's sense of humor; "He enjoys humor.. as long as it's his.."

I miss visiting her. May just pay for another visit in order to be able to sit there and share the world. Probably worth the $200.

 

[moose eater]

TENS is Great.

Been using the TENS 3000 3 Mode Analog TENS Unit with Timer for under $30.00

I have no timer on mine since I got it like 2 years ago.
Really relaxes those tense muscles that TENS is needed.
Comes with Everything

Thanks.

I'll be using this thread as a guide when/if I go to replace the one I have now. Personal experience is far better a compass than a bunch of ratings on some corporate web site that may or may not have been put there by the 25 family members of the manufacturer.