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How to Use the TENS 7000 2nd Edition Digital TENS Unit
What is Pain? What is its Purpose?
Pain is a warning system and the body's method of telling us that something is wrong. Pain is essential; without it, abnormal conditions may go undetected, causing damage or injury to vital parts of our bodies.
Even though pain is a necessary warning signal of trauma or malfunction in the body, nature may have gone too far in its design. Aside from its value in diagnosis, long-lasting persistent pain serves no useful purpose. Pain doesn't begin until a coded message travels to the brain where it's decoded, analyzed, and then reacted to.
The pain message goes from the injured area along the small nerves leading to the spinal cord. Here the signal is switched to different nerves that travel up the spinal cord to the brain. The pain message is then interpreted, referred back, and the pain is felt.
How the TENS 7000 Relieves Pain
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Units help with chronic pain by sending tiny electrical pulses through the skin to nerves to modify your pain perception. It helps with pain by reducing or eliminating the pain, allowing for regular activity. The strategy it uses is known as "pain gating." The TENS unit blocks pain signals from reaching the brain, which prevents the sensation known as pain.
Another side effect and effective technique for pain relief is the release of endorphins. The TENS 7000 causes the body to release endorphins, known as the "feel-good" chemical. This is the body's natural reaction to pain. The TENS unit causes the body to twitch, making it release endorphins.
Understanding the Construction of the TENS 7000
The TENS 7000 is one of the more straightforward to use TENS units on the market. But to anyone new to TENS therapy, these devices can look daunting. Below, we've diagrammed the TENS 7000 to point out the buttons and what they do.
- Lead Connector: These connect the lead wires to the TENS unit to send electric pulses to the electrodes attached to the skin.
- Intensity Control (On/Off Switch): This acts as both the power switch and controls how intense the electrical pulse is. The TENS 7000 has a range of 0-100 mA with eight levels of intensity, level one being lowest and level eight being highest. The TENS 7000 features dual-channel control for two levels of treatment simultaneously.
- Panel Cover: This is a unique feature of the TENS 7000 that helps protect the buttons from accidentally being pushed as well as a short instruction guide for quick set up.
- Liquid Crystal Display: This is where the settings are displayed, including the selected mode, frequency, intensity, and treatment timing.
- Mode Control: Allows you to switch between the five programmed modes, including burst, normal, modulation, SD1, and SD2.
- Set Control: Lets you select between the settings to get the optimal pain treatment.
- Increment Control: Let's you increase the settings of the TENS 7000, including pulse width, pulse rate, and timer.
- Decrement Control: Let's you decrease the settings of the TENS 7000 including pulse width, pulse rate, and timer.
- Battery Case: Protects the battery
- Belt clip: Makes the TENS 7000 mobile and able to clip onto clothing for hands-free mobility pain management.
- Protective Cover: Keeps the intensity levels from accidentally being changes to prevent harmful shocking.
TENS 7000 Technical Specifications
- Compliance Meter: Stores 60 records up to 999 hours. This means you can go back to other settings that worked well with your pain treatment.
- Power Source: 9-volt battery
- Modes: Burst, Modulation, Constant, MRW, SD1 and SD2
- Channels: Dual channel for use with two or four electrodes
- Timer: Variable 5 - 60 minutes or continuous.
- Auto shutoff
- Output: 0-100 mA
- Pulse Rate: 2 - 150 Hz, adjustable
TENS 7000 Accessories
The TENS 7000 comes with a few accessories, some depending on which TENS Unit Kit you select. Below, we've highlighted the accessories available for the TENS 7000:
Lead Wires
These are the wires that connect the TENS 7000 to the electrodes to transfer the electrical pulse and stimulate the nerves.
Electrodes (TENS Unit Pads)
These are pads that attach to the lead wires and go directly on the skin. They are reusable but should be replaced once their stick has worn off. It's essential to replace them because once the stick has worn off, then the electrical current will no longer be transferred to your skin.
TENS 7000 Carrying Case
This is our specially designed TENS Unit carrying case that holds your TENS 7000, electrodes, lead wires, and TENS 7000 instruction manual. It's been designed to make your TENS unit even more portable and easily stored.
Customizing Your TENS 7000 Pain Treatment
No pain is the same. It varies not just with the type of pain experienced, but with the person. Pain relief customizability is what makes the TENS 7000 a highly recommended TENS unit. In many patients, the reduction or elimination of pain lasts longer than the actual period of stimulation (sometimes as much as three or four times longer). We've broken down the five programmed modes on the TENS 7000 as well as the other customization features for more personal pain treatment.
Intensity Level
This is the level of shock that your TENS Unit will put out when on. The TENS 7000 ranges from 0 to 100 mA with 100 mA being the strongest. Most TENS units only go up to 80 mA.
Pulse Duration
This is the length of the pulse that's put out by the TENS Unit. Wider pulse duration settings will deliver stronger stimulation for any given intensity setting. By using a combination of intensity and pulse duration, it's felt that various pulse widths are capable of stimulating different groups of nerve fibers.
Pulse Rate
This is the rate at which separate pulses are sent from the TENS Unit. The Pulse Rate (hertz or pulses per second) chosen depends significantly upon the type of electrode placement. When using continuous and dermatome electrode placements, a quick pulse rate (higher than 80Hz), is ideal. The user should not perceive individual pulses but have the sensation of steady, continuous stimulation.
Timer
In most cases, pain relief should occur instantly after reaching the correct pain treatment levels. In some cases, pain relief can take as long as 30 minutes. The TENS 7000 allows you to customize your treatment length up to 60 minutes (most TENS units don't allow for custom treatment time and turn off after 30 minutes).
Five TENS Therapy Treatment Modes
Normal Mode
Normal Mode or Conventional TENS offers the user complete control over all the various treatment settings, including the pulse rate, pulse width, and frequency. Normal mode is best for users looking for full control over their TENS therapy pain treatment.
Burst Mode
Burst Mode is analogous to the Low Rate TENS technique except the low-frequency individual pulses are replaced by single "bursts" of 7-10 individual pulses. It is a combination of Conventional TENS and Low Rate TENS. In Burst Mode, the treatment frequency is fixed by the instrument and is not adjustable with the Frequency Rate control.
Modulation Mode
Modulated Mode attempts to prevent nerve accommodation by continuously cycling the treatment intensity. When using Modulated Mode, increase the intensity only when the unit is at the maximum intensity of the modulation cycle. If the intensity is increased during a low-intensity period of the modulation cycle, the user should increase the intensity slowly until the modulation cycle reaches the maximum level. This will ensure a true maximum intensity output.
Strength-Duration Modulation
Strength-Duration Modulation (SD1 and SD2) consists of alternating modulated aptitude and width so that one parameter is always decreasing while the other is increasing and vice versa. This amplitude decreases from the amplitude control setting and returns to that setting. The width decreases from the width control setting and returns to that setting.
When it comes to the pain treatment settings on your TENS 7000, we recommend speaking with your doctor or physical therapist for the best practices specifically for you. No pain is precisely the same making customized treatment highly recommended for optimal pain relief.
Electrode Placement
The placement of electrodes is critical when it comes to getting optimal pain relief. It may take some time at first to find the correct electrode placement to target the pain point. Contiguous placement is the most common electrode placement technique - it involves placing electrodes alongside the area of the localized pain to direct the flow of current through and around the area of pain.
When using a single channel application, it involves placing each pad on either side of the pain site if the pain is localized on a limb and deep within the tissue. TENS Unit pad placement on the posterior and anterior aspects of the affected limp will allow the current to flow entirely through the limp and thus through the endogenous pain site.
When using two channels, the user can direct the current flow to cross through the pain site. Another option is to use what's called the "bracket" method. The bracket method allows the current to flow on either side of the painful area, generally through the nerve branches that feed into the pain site.
Once you've found a placement that effectively treats your pain, mark down the electrode sites and TENS Unit settings to easily pick treatment back up in the future.
Applying and Removing Electrodes
To get the best pain treatment from your TENS 7000, it's essential to apply, remove, and care for your electrodes properly. We've included simple and easy steps for using and caring for TENS 7000 electrodes.
Application
- Clean and dry the skin at the target area thoroughly with soap and water before the application of electrodes.
- Insert the lead wire into the pin connector on the pre-wired electrodes
- Remove the electrodes from the protective liner and apply the electrodes firmly to the treatment site. Make sure the unit is turned off before using the electrodes
Removal
- Turn off the unit before removing the electrodes.
- Lift at the edge of the electrodes and peel; don't pull on the lead wires because it may damage the electrodes.
- Place the electrodes on the liner and remove the lead wire by twisting and pulling at the same time.
Care and Storage
- Between uses, store the electrodes in the resealable bag in a cool, dry place.
- It may be helpful to improve the repeated application by spreading a few drops of cold water over the adhesive and turn the surface up to air dry. Oversaturation with water will reduce the adhesive properties.
Getting the Best Out of TENS 7000
To get the best out of TENS 7000, be sure to make sure the settings are correct, your electrode placements are in the target area and placed correctly, and you've made sure your TENS unit is well taken care of. To get more information on the TENS unit, how to use it, and best practices, we've included links below:
About the Author
Brandon Landgraf is the Digital Marketing Manager for Carex Health Brands. He finds passion and fulfillment in creating content that enhances, improves, and enlivens others' quality of life. All of his written work is formulated to not only offer essential advice and tips but back it with proven studies and experts. His mission is to connect with readers and provide steps to make their lives better.
About TENS 7000
Pain sucks. It affects millions of people each year with adverse physical and mental side effects. TENS 7000 provides tools to combat pain and let people live life on their terms, pain-free. Our TENS 7000 TENS Unit is one of the top-rated over-the-counter TENS units, having sold over two million since 2008. Stop letting aches and pain hold you back — live life on your terms.