TENS and the use off!!!

SuperFred

Ok, most people have had some sort of back pain in their lives and bike riders are well use to having to deal with it all.

I need some info from you guys on TENS electrods and the use of them.I'm a Cat2 road rider and have had a weak back all my life but just over a year ago I really hurt it bad playing a silly game of soccer at a friends BBQ, (I don't even like playing the dam game).....anyway I have hurt it before and with rest and some stretching it's comes as good as it gets but this time I really did it.I'm left with a 5mm bulge of the L5 disc for the past year and got an MRI done which shows that I have only 1 disc that is not "degenative" and have a narrowing of the spinal column!!!!.....The only thing that hurts is the 5mm bulge which is pushing on a nerve and causing alot of pain at one point down my leg.

I have done the whole physio thing and did some good but they only got me so far and I went for 3 epidurals and they worked really good, stoped the pain down my leg and was allmost gone altogeather but when I tryed to go back to work the pain came back again, but only in my lower back(thank God)....the doc says the next step is an operation which I want to stay clear off as long as possable....I have to take antiinflammatory to have some comfort although the one place I find to be at easy the most is on the bike!!!!.....I have more pain when trying to wash the car than doing a 100miler with a fast group.

Now as I don't want to stay on the Bextra that I need for my back I'm looking for other ways to control the pain. When I was going through physio they used TENS electrord on me aswell as lower back massage which worked pretty good as far as pain releif and have been looking on the net about getting one for use at home and as my wife is pretty good at massage this my work for me(I hope).

Ok, the Q's....anyone know the best type to get and has anyone tryed this.
Has anyone heard of a treatment that puts a needle into the disc in which a fiber is pasted through and heated, this is supposed to shrink the disc to release pressure of the nerve!!!!!..need any info on this and the above!!!!!.

I'm living in the USA but only have been here a year from Ireland. any info would be great.

bengibbs

My mum has MS and Arthritis in her back. She uses a TENS Unit and says that they work great for pain relief. If I was you I would speak to my Doc about it and see what he thinks. Hope it all goes well mate, Good Luck.

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Gibbo.

Army CU

SuperFred

Thanks for the info,

Still trying to find out more about that treatment I was on about so any info on it would be great.