I used one in physical therapy for ACL surgery. It seemed relatively effective at controlling or limiting atrophy, but I found it produced unpleasant and difficult to describe sensations.
TENS units only provide short-term relief. Don’t get a TENS unit thinking it will “fix” your problem. They have never been shown to provide any type of long term relief. I rarely use TENS on my back pain patients. Only those who have chronic pain that does not respond to any other attempts at rehab. In these cases I tell them to use the TENS only when nothing else is working and they need some short term pain relief, or just before going to bed so you can get some sleep.
The key for you is to find out what is going on with your back, which is easier said than done, and then try to address those issues. Also don’t be surprised to hear a few different answers, from your different providers. One of the sad truths about back pain is that in 85% of cases no definitive diagnosis can be given.
Finally, and this is probably the most important…it has only been a week. Now when you are in pain, I realize that a week seems like a long time, but again I go to the research. Statistics are on your side on this one…studies show that 85-90% of all cases of acute onset low back pain will resolve within 4 weeks, even in the absence of treatment.
EMPI Epix VT. Reasonably priced (~$350 I think). Digital. Up 50mA per channel. 10 different programs. Very good. I love it… Feel free to ask me any questions; I’ve got it sitting right in front of me…
I will second the empi unit-I use them in my clinic
As was stated before, just temporary to “cover up” the pain.
While the EMPI’s are good units, you don’t need to spend that much to get a TENS unit for home use. Found a few on Amazon.com
This looks very similar to the units we used to give, actually loan but never expected a return, to our patients. I believe they cost our clinic $60.00