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Encyclopedia of Pain pp 2508–2511Cite as

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) in Treatment of Muscle Pain

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Synonyms

Transcutaneous Nerve Stimulation (TNS); Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation; (TES) Electrical Stimulation Therapy (EST); Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation; Electroanalgesia

Definition

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a non-invasive analgesic intervention, which delivers electrical currents across the intact surface of the skin to stimulate the underlying nerves (see Fig. 1). TENS is used extensively for the symptomatic relief of all types of pain, including pains of musculoskeletal origin. The purpose of TENS is to activate selectively those populations of nerve fibres that are concerned with segmental and extrasegmental anti-nociceptive mechanisms. The two main TENS techniques are conventional TENS and acupuncture-like TENS (AL-TENS).

Figure 1
figure _1_978-3-540-29805-2_4556

An electrical pulse generator delivers currents via conducting electrodes attached to the intact surface of the skin. Traditionally, carbon rubber electrodes smeared with conducting gel and attached to the...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health, Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK

    Mark I. Johnson

Authors
  1. Mark I. Johnson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physiological Institute, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Robert F. Schmidt

  2. Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

    William D. Willis

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Johnson, M. (2007). Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) in Treatment of Muscle Pain. In: Schmidt, R., Willis, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_4556

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_4556

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43957-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-29805-2

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