Med-Fit 3 Manuel D'instruction page 11

INTENSITY
Each patient responds differently to different levels of intensity, due
to varying degrees of tissue resistance, innnervation, skin thickness,
etc. Intensity instructions are therefore limited to the following set-
tings: Perception - The intensity is increased so that the patient can
feel the stimulation, but there is no muscular contraction.
Slight Contraction - Intensity is increased to a barely visible mus-
cular contraction that is not strong enough to move a joint. When
using low pulse rate settings, this will show as individual twitches.
At higher pulse rates there will simply be increased muscle tension.
Strong muscular contraction is typically not used in TENS therapy.
However, muscular contraction may be useful if the pain involves a
cramped or spastic muscle.The TENS can be used as a traditional
muscle stimulator in the circumstances to quickly break the spasm.
Use a rapid pulse rate, wide pulse duration and set the intensity to
visible contraction (still within patient tolerance).
minutes of such a tetanized muscular contraction will generally
break the spasm. In all cases, if the patient complains that the stimulation
is uncomfortable, reduce intensity and/or cease stimulation.
TIME DURATION
The onset of pain relief should occur shortly after the intensity set-
ting has been determined. However, in some cases, pain relief may
take as long as 30 minutes to achieve especially when using low-
frequency TENS.TENS units are typically operated for long periods
of time, with a minimum of 20 - 30 minutes and in some post-opera-
tive protocols, as long as 36 hours.
In general, pain relief will diminish within 30 minutes of the cessation
of stimulation. Pain relief obtained through low-frequency TENS
may last longer.
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