♪ Bob and Brad ♪
♪ The two most famous ♪
♪ Physical therapists on the internet ♪
- Hi folks, I'm Bob Schrupp, physical therapist.
- Brad Heineck, physical therapist.
- And we are the most famous physical therapists
on the internet.
- In our opinion, of course, Bob.
- Today we're gonna answer the question for you,
what type of TENS unit should you get
for controlling your pain?
We've talked about what a TENS unit is in other videos,
so you should check those out.
But once you decide you want to buy one,
we're gonna help you, guide you through this process.
Brad and I have tried dozens of TENS units, different types.
- Over the last 20 to 30 years.
- Right.
And what we have found is that most work fine,
some are a little confusing,
and some have very poor instructions.
- Yup.
- So that's why we decided we're gonna endorse one brand,
and that's iReliev.
The reason we chose their brand is it's FDA approved,
they're powerful, they're effective, they're a good cost,
and they have really excellent instructions.
- Right.
- But let's go over the considerations
that you want to think about
when you want to buy a TENS unit.
Number one, do you want a TENS unit, or EMS, or both?
So TENS is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.
That's for pain relief.
- Yeah, you don't have to worry about that big long name.
- Right.
- Pain management, yep.
- EMS is electrical muscle stimulation, and that's for:
- Muscle...
- Retraining.
- Retraining, muscle recruitment, if you've had a stroke,
you're trying to get a muscle to reeducate
and to fire up again.
And they also use them for, they say,
I'm not sure about the studies on this,
if you have sore muscles after hard work--
- Oh yeah, for recovery.
- For recovery.
- Yeah, excellent.
So for many of you, if you're just looking for pain relief,
you don't need the EMS portion of it.
- Right.
- And some of them have both, and some of them, you know,
it just says EMS, you probably want to get the TENS unit,
'cause that's what you're here for, is the pain relief.
Number two, rechargeable versus non rechargeable batteries.
Now Brad and I are old enough to remember
when they were all non chargeable,
and that was kind of a pain.
- Right.
You'd have to kind of carry around two or three AA batteries
in your pocket or in your purse or wherever.
- There was a nine volt, don't you remember?
- Oh, that's right!
- Yeah, they were nine volt.
- Cubicle ones, yeah.
- And what would happen is,
if we hadn't seen a patient for a while who needed one,
you'd take the battery out, and it wouldn't be working.
Because it had drained on its own there.
The non chargeable units are always less expensive.
- Right.
- So that may be a route you want to go initially,
to see if you're really going to like the unit.
- And I'm sure in the next couple years,
they won't even make 'em anymore.
- I agree.
- I think they'll phase 'em out.
- Yeah, I think they are already.
We like the 13-13.
That's a non chargeable, but it's only like $39
as of this filming.
- Right.
- It may be more when you, and if you use our link below.
So, number three.
Units with wires versus units without wires.
You want to just kind of show what the wires are,
I guess you could kind of show it out there, yeah.
- Here we got the wires.
I don't have the actual TENS unit out.
- Yeah.
- But these wires will hook onto the pads,
and say I was putting this on my shoulder,
you have to negotiate these wires,
put them through your clothing, typically,
and then put the unit in your pocket.
It's smaller than a wallet.
But they do, they just came out with them in the last,
what, couple years?
- Right.
- The pads, you don't have any wires.
You have the unit, but no wires.
So you gotta make sure, you know--
- Those are a lot more expensive, though.
- Right.
- Because those are pods.
And those pods have to be charged up too.
- Right, right.
- And so, it's not hassle free,
but if you're really against wires, that's the route to go.
And like he says, more expensive.
I don't really mind the wires, to be honest, Brad.
- If you've never used TENS and you want to find out,
don't go with the wireless right away.
They cost more and in case the TENS doesn't do
what you want it to for pain management--
- Yeah, why spend the extra money?
- Right, get the cheaper unit.
See how it works for you.
If you're really happy with it, then go on.
It's like any other progression with--
- Yeah, that's a good way to put it.
Okay, number four, some units are simple,
and some are a lot more complicated.
Some you can control from your smartphone.
So I can see the advantage of that,
if you didn't want to, you know,
if you had your phone all the time,
you didn't want to pull your pack out I guess.
Also it can pulsate to music on your phone, I guess.
We haven't seen these types of ones.
I've just read about these.
- Okay.
- So, number five.
Electrodes.
When you're considering buying the electrodes
that come with it, normally they do send electrodes with it,
or pads.
- Right.
- And the thing is, the pads come in many sizes and shapes.
Brad's going to show a larger one there.
- Yup.
- And I'll show, here's four smaller ones.
- So there's four on there, I don't know if you can see it
on the camera.
If you can zoom in.
And these two, this is a set.
They're connected physically.
That can be advantageous
depending on where your location is,
whether it's your shoulder, your back, you know.
It may not work on an elbow, where you're bending.
You might use that.
But they're just all, these are not real expensive.
You buy what works for you.
- And this has a pigtail attachment,
and these have a snap attachment.
And that's why it's gonna be important that you get the kind
that are compatible with your unit.
- If you've got the pigtail, you know,
it connects like this.
And you just simply put it in there like that.
But this is not gonna work with this pad,
so make sure you get the right pad with the right wire.
- Yeah.
And they always send pads with you initially.
It's just if you're looking for pads after the fact,
and your pad is not working anymore.
- Save your paperwork.
They usually have websites that you can go to
and get the right pad.
- We, again, I'm gonna mention,
we like the 13-13 for a starter for people.
Again, it's like $39 or $49 right now,
depending on, you know, when you buy it.
But it does have wires, and it does have batteries.
But I think it's a great starter unit.
Number seven, our favorite unit, by the way, is the 8080.
And you have that one right there, right?
Is that the 80--
- Yep, this is the one right here.
- It has EMS and TENS.
- Right.
- It's got wires, but it is rechargeable.
That's what I like about it.
So it's easy to use.
The only thing that it's missing is that it's not wireless,
but I just like it as an overall unit.
If you think you're gonna be using it on a permanent basis.
- Right.
You can plug it in to a 110 with an adapter,
or you can plug it into your computer and charge--
- Right, recharge it up.
- You know, so it's all up to date that way.
- All right.
Put your questions down below.
Thanks for watching. - Thank you very much.