Tens Machines problems

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GrahamDee

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Not sure I'm in the right place to post this....apologies if it isn't.

To help cope with my bad hip, I bought a Tens machine as an alternative to painkillers. I find it actually works, but it's totally impracticle to wear outside the house. Currently I plug-in when I'm at home and finished walking for the day and it helps take the ache away.

My problem is with the sticky pads. They just peel and fall off all the time. I have two electrodes at the base of my spine an inch or two below my belt line and as I sit, drive and move about, they just fall away and my box starts beeping at me with a pad alarm. Ideally, if I could have my box with me all the time, it would be good to turn it on when things are sore for a bit now and again.

The pads are the sticky jelly type and the instructions say to moisten them with water if they lose their sticky. Problem is, they just will not recover their stickyness and I have had to buy another set even though I have only used them a few times. I wondered if there is any other solution to this, beyond using plaster tape to hold them on. I thought about using a pair of cycling shorts (I have a second set of pads on my thigh/near buttock) to hold them on and even looked to see if they came as a series of straps or belts to hold them in place.

Unless I'm totally missing something here, Tens is a great machine flawed by a simple problem. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
 
Re: Tens Machines

I have three one is the type with the leads coming off it which can only really be used when lying down, the other is the mini wireless control type , I have found that the pads on these stay on fine, if placed on the top of my hip as no wires from the box to pull at them and the control unit that plugs into it very light , In fact I have woken up in the morning having tossed or turned all night and still in place. Only other soulution is duck tape or super glue :snork:

I also have a complete belt with a tens unit fitted which cost me over £100 basically it is a wide back support , the pads stud into it and the Tens machine clips on the outside , but it is very bulky and I have only worn it a couple of times
 
Re: Tens Machines

Gosh, I never knew about the one in a belt! That's neat. Mind you, bet they don't have a belt big enough for me! :th_heehee:

Using TENS machines

Those pads are a problem. They get too gooey in addition to which the wires are only simply laid between the adhesive and the gel so they can easily pull out. What out if/when they do that cus it's painful! Has happened to me on a couple of occasions.

I've worn my TENS all day on occasions and never had a problem. For my knee, when I had an arthroscopic menisectomy, I had my knee set up like so
aflagsforworship.co.uk_jo_pic_images_tenspacvc.jpg

and then applied a cross of micropore on top to make sure they didn't move while at work. (I wore scrubs and couldn't easily get to them if anything came adrift!) I've also used it the same way on my shoulders and my lower back, often all day and never had a problem. Might be worth a try with your hip.

My suggestions are:
1. replace your pads frequently; they are very short lived and the idea of wetting them to revitalise the stickiness is utter nonsense! I've tried it numerous times and it never worked for me either! I usually buy mine in packs of 20 from Ebay! They are a good price on there. There are some orange/brown looking ones purporting to be 'long life' pads but they are nothing of the kind and the sticky is useless, so steer clear of those.

2. apply a strip of sticky tape to them keep them in place like I did - you could use almost any adhesive tape like electrician's insulating tape. As long as it does the job and doesn't cause a skin rash, it doesn't really matter what it is.
 
Re: Tens Machines

Gosh, I never knew about the one in a belt! That's neat. Mind you, bet they don't have a belt big enough for me! :th_heehee:

Oh yes they will, I had to order an extender which makes it double the waist size, it is however too bulky and totally impractical to wear under clothes ok for when at home, have tried to flog it on Ebay without success the worst £107 I ever spent. The pads are £12 a pop and I'm sure they make them with little adhesive so need to replace more often, however as they are press studded to belt , they stay in place

If someone wears a back support normally may be ok to use instead

The mini one I have works great and stays put it packs the same punch as the others and cheap at the price

apply a strip of sticky tape to them keep them in place like I did - you could use almost any adhesive tape like electrician's insulating tape. As long as it does the job and doesn't cause a skin rash, it doesn't really matter what it is.
Just make sure if you get run over you are conscious otherwise may think into some kind of bondage
 
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