Best TENS Unit for Shoulder Pain
We’re going to share the best physical therapist recommended tens unit products with you.
Today we’re going to rely on our record of finding trusted information and academic medical research to give you truthful reviews. This gives you the easy answer to your TENS unit questions.
We’ve created 3 research guidelines for TENS units guaranteeing shoulder pain relief:
- Must be tolerated well by patients
- A reduction in pain levels must be reported
- Reported safe unit for analgesia
Our academic publication of choice (Morgan et al., 1996) reviews and disseminates the use of transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation units, supporting clinical trial use via visual analogue pain scale. A 50% reduction in mean patient pain levels concluded that TENS units can be used successfully as analgesia therapy devices.
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Our number one ranked TENS unit for shoulder pain is based upon our prior research finding medical evaluations about the differences between TENS machine combos and therapeutic shoulder pain relief programs concerning frozen shoulder relief. (Mezian et al., 2020) specifically recommends TENS units for shoulder pain, and we gather from that publication that the most powerful TENS unit would be the most effective at eliminating shoulder pain, especially after extreme shoulder pain or shoulder injuries caused by surgery. While a physical therapist recommended TENS unit could take 30 minutes to reach full efficacy for analgesia (numbing/pain relief), this product can immediately reach the intensity of a 500-ohm load. Easily set by a small LCD screen with the included buttons, the small 4 channel device is our highest recommended tens unit for shoulder pain.
The benefit of a 4 channel professional TENS unit like this is that it will blow your current TENS unit over in terms of power. This unit comes with a bunch of extra pads that can be attached to your injured area, and each one seriously stimulates your nerves! The battery life and extra pads set this device apart from the rest as you can reuse the device without any worry for a long while. This means that you can be on your phone, computer, or watching TV for a while without having to recharge or replace a pad on your TENS unit. You can get a lot done while having this professional TENS unit because of the long battery life, as well as the extra pads; making future purchases unnecessary for you. We recommend this product as the #1 best tens unit for frozen shoulder pain.
The instruction manual has very easy procedures for you, giving you a good starting point for the best TENS unit setting for shoulder pain, and making life easy for you. With the time you save with the easy instruction manual you can get back to your work or leisure life and be pain-free. The number of features on this most powerful TENS unit is impressive, as the multitude of channels, TENS modes, EMS modes, and preset programs will have everything you could possibly need in a professional TENS unit, all in one product. The combination of the best features from other units all in one is a great benefit to the consumer, as we can experiment on what works best for our shoulder pain.
Pros
- Long battery lasts more than two days
- High-quality pads, with extras in the box
- Very powerful maximum intensity at a 500-ohm load
- A reported reduction in shoulder pain levels
Cons
- Price is relatively high
According to our research (Morgan et al., 1996) TENS EMS units are excellent at relieving shoulder pain. The treatment of shoulder pain according to the research can be therapeutically administered by a TENS device with the electro-pads being placed over the injury impacted area. Physical therapists recommend that the TENS unit be well tolerated by the buyer as well as having a reported reduction in pain level by the buyer (which can be checked by looking through the reviews).
The main benefit of purchasing this product is the proven shoulder pain relief. Especially paired with moderate stretching, cold, compression, and care, this best TENS unit for shoulder pain has a high ranking from us for a reason. The many types of modes mean that you can get the intensity just right. Just 20 minutes of moderate-intensity every day will get you out of those expensive physical therapy sessions and getting you closer to being pain-free. You can spend more money on the things that you care about instead of physical therapy, like entertainment and leisure.
The small size is also a big benefit to you, as you can bring it around your house and charge it easily. This means that you can bring your professional TENS unit into your bed, your sofa while you’re watching TV, or just on a chair while you’re on your computer working. You don’t have to waste time with a huge, oversized TENS unit, meaning that you will be freer to move around your house. This set of TENS EMS combo unit reviews is designed to inform you on the latest technological features in the professional TENS unit industry.
Chiropractors recommend this professional TENS unit on account of the professional quality therapy it provides. Good toleration levels from the reviews are a great sign and means that chiropractors will be more apt to recommend this product to you. This is a great travel TENS machine given the relatively small size, which means you can bring it with you on the go, even on the airplane. The one downside is the lock button is cheaply made, meaning that it is flimsy during presses and hard to feel. This can be overlooked because of the high-quality LCD screen and wiring.
Pros
- Many massage modes and intensities
- Lots of extra pads
- Rated for 20 hours of continuous use
Cons
- Lock button is flimsy
Our academic research (Morgan et al., 1996) tells us that the best TENS unit for shoulder pain is the one that has been recorded as a safe and simple form of analgesia (pain relief). This iReliev TENS unit may be up against the iSTIM TENS unit for being the most powerful TENS unit, but the research says that power isn’t the whole picture. Specifically, the evidence (provided by iReliev) that a physical therapy TENS unit has features that quickly dull pain and acts as a muscle stimulator for your shoulder. This means that being powerful is good, but having pain relief is even better, as it more accurately answers your question.
This iReliev TENS EMS combo unit from a quality standpoint does a great job at providing sturdy and durable electrodes connected to a high-quality device. The brand iReliev TENS does an excellent quality control job with this TENS machine. Your shoulder pain will be relieved from the intensity settings, as this brand iReliev TENS is known for making excellent pain relief TENS machine products.
iReliev offers a good return policy, so the company is true to its guarantee of helping the customer in question. The timer is a nice feature as it lets you pick your time to the minute adjustable timer. This means that you can set an exact time for you to stop. This saves you time and lets you stay on track with your busy schedule. When you are on track, you miss fewer appointments and can be more progressive in your activities at work or at home.
You don’t even have to crank this iReliev TENS machine very high in intensity. This TENS EMS combo unit will perform in being an extreme muscle stimulator if you turn it up too high. Being a battery-powered TENS machine, you will be surprised about how powerful this professional TENS unit is. If you are a physical therapist or doctor, you will want to purchase this item because of the good brand reviews, device power, and helpful adjustable timer. One disadvantage for this iReliev TENS EMS combo unit could be the lack of an A/C adapter, as this only runs on batteries. This can be overlooked however as the battery life is quite long.
Pros
- Long battery life
- Great brand reputation (iReliev)
- To-the-minute adjustable timer
Cons
- No A/C adapter
The given research (Morgan et al., 1996) explains the professional TENS unit guidelines: being well tolerated by patients and reliving pain in a reasonable manner. This means that when we were looking for reviews of this device, we were 100% clear with ourselves for what reviews we were considering. Our research gave us the content to write this piece, as our firsthand experience investigating a professional TENS unit like this made us certain this was the best wireless TENS unit for your shoulder pain.
Having a wireless TENS EMS unit at the ready whenever you need it is a big benefit to you. The rest of the TENS units on this list have wires and are not “smart devices”. This product is completely controllable via an app from your iPhone or android, easily set up with Bluetooth, and voila! You have a completely wireless TENS and EMS combo unit at your disposal to help the injured tendons in your shoulder.
The benefit to this device is that you can be in multiple locations, and even travel with this device. Whether you are relaxing at home or on the train, you can have a good muscle stimulator at your side whenever you need it, helping your shoulder to relieve pain. This makes you freer to pursue outdoor activities like being at the park or sunbathing, while also helping your shoulder be more pain-free.
You can fit any button style electrode in with this product, as it comes with four electrodes to start off, you can customize it. Just make sure you apply it to clean skin, helping the life of the electrode last you for the life cycle of the device. What makes it the best wireless TENS unit is the app connectivity, it works right out of the box with your smartphone. For such a small price, this is an excellent purchase, as the battery life is good; lasting 6 uses before needing to be charged. One disadvantage is that after the timer expires there is an annoying beep that is not able to be turned off. This can be negated by the fact that the beeping is not that loud.
Pros
- Well designed wireless functionality
- Can fit any other button style electrode in with this product
- Acceptable battery life
Cons
- Beeping sound when the timer expries
Shoulder pain can be treated in several ways: but therapeutic ultrasounds and cryotherapy are very expensive ways to relieve shoulder pain. A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit costs much less and provides similar results according to our research (Mezian et al., 2020). To relieve shoulder pain, our parameters call for a TENS EMS combo unit that is tolerated well by patients and is regularly prescribed to them via physical therapists. According to our reviews, it’s one of the most powerful TENS units and prescribed by physical therapists. Through our digging, we even found one patient that relayed his experience of showing this product to his physical therapist and they were impressed at the quality and intensity!
If you have shoulder pain, getting a small physical therapy TENS unit is a great way to get out of scheduling expensive therapy sessions with your health care provider. You can spend that money on other things in your life, like entertainment and leisurely activities. This is a physical therapist recommended TENS unit, as the intensity is easily adjusted, and each electrode pad has a separate channel that can be controlled separately. This means that for different places on your place of shoulder pain, you can have different intensity electrodes around the injured area.
The muscle stimulator nerve endings that benefit from the different intensity electrodes benefit greatly from the customizability. It’s all about your comfort at the end of the day, and the research shows that you will be happy with the easy of use and pain relief that this product provides to you. A disadvantage of the product would be the quality control of the internal engineering. There have been reported bricking of devices, but if you treat your device well, you shouldn’t have any issues with this TENS EMS combo unit.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Therapy intensity is easily customized
- Each electrode pad has a separate intensity channel
Cons
- Reported infrequent dying of devices
Choosing an EMS Combo Unit – Our Research-Based Buying Guide
Finding the Most Powerful EMS Combo Unit
Our research suggests that commercial TENS Units range from 1 to around 150 Hz pulse rate, with around a 500-ohm load pulse amplitude. If you can find the Pulse statistics anywhere on your product, that is a great metric for finding out how powerful your TENS unit is. Having an AC Adapter power supply with a capacity of over 200 Volts is another metric for TENS EMS combo unit power. For shoulder pain, usually a more medium pulse rate of 90 Hz would be recommended by a physical therapist, but by all means, if you want the most powerful TENS unit, crank up the intensity and enjoy the nerve endings doing their thing. We found the most powerful TENS unit to be the iSTIM EV-805 TENS EMS with the intensity being easily set the 150 Hz max pulse rate.
With a massive selection of luxury brands, high ticket items like their TENS EMS combo unit, no wonder they are the top brand in commercial and home use grade TENS machines and muscle stimulators. Our research (Morgan et al., 1996) states that TENS machines should be a safe and simple form of analgesia, well-tolerated by medical patients, and induce a reduction in pain levels for the patient. iReliev TENS machines have been through the gauntlet of testing and product reviews, confirming that iReliev TENS units act as a form of analgesia and do relieve pain. For your shoulder, iReliev TENS machines will work well because of the brand recognition and accountability iReliev has, as a trusted and heavily frequented brand in the industry of physical therapy TENS units.
Finding a Physical Therapist Recommended TENS Unit
Our team at Findithealth.net has done our share of research about the best TENS unit for shoulder pain, and through our research, we keep coming across the brand iReliev. They are not sponsoring us, but we have it on high authority that iReliev TENS machines are more reliable than other TENS machines. They have good reviews, and an excellent track record in terms of relieving shoulder pain. As always, read the reviews for critical reviews if you need group-mind recommendations, as usually, that will be on par with prescribed TENS units, as even those are commercial and home-use grade.
Find It Health – Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Best EMS Combo Unit?
According to our thorough research, we have come to the conclusion that the iSTIM EV-805 is the best TENS unit for shoulder pain. The battery lasts for two full days of use, the electrode pads are of high quality, and the maximum intensity is equal to a professional TENS unit or a physical therapy TENS unit.
Is a EMS Combo Unit good for shoulder pain?
When we recommend a professional TENS unit, we know that it will work for relieving shoulder pain, but specifically, the TENS is used for EMS or Electrical Muscle Stimulation, which is designed to create the following: muscle contractions, rehabilitation for the muscle motor neurons, muscle re-education, and improvement of blood flow to the injured muscle groups.
How to use TENS unit for shoulder pain?
Ergonomics and quality materials are always recommended by Find It Health when it comes to cushions. For tailbone cushions, you need a U-shape for your tailbone and coccyx to be in the right position to align with your spine. If your spine is aligned with your legs that means that your sciatica nerve pain will not be aggravated as much. In addition, we recommend cooling technology in cushions, like the Coccyx cushion and lumbar support pillow combo, which cool off your hips, letting you enjoy your sitting sessions pain-free.
How long can a sore shoulder last?
Depending on the injury severity or cause of shoulder pain, you can be sidelined from activities requiring intense shoulder exercise from one hour to two days. If your shoulder pain or soreness persists, it is recommended to contact your personal physician or health care professional for future medical consultation (MountainState Orthopedic Associates).
Conclusion: Getting the Most Professional TENS Unit
As we finish our article; we want to say again that we enjoy doing research for the well-being of our community. The research we do share here is for people that are curious, and have TENS EMS unit questions.
We do our best to give the most relevant answers to the questions of products and even know which are the most trafficked and asked questions about TENS units. The consumer is on top of our priorities. If you are suffering from headaches, we have pillows reviewed just for you.
We look for the most relevant academic studies, articles, and publications to share with our audience, in the hope that you will learn some new information.
Our top priority is health, so much so that we created a guide about general health free of charge for the public to consume and share with their family and friends. Our authors do their best to give the leading product information about TENS units for shoulder pain directly to you so that you can learn more about health. That is the purpose of Find It Health; answering your questions with research analysis that is made simple, just for you.
Findithealth Question
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References
Mezian K, Coffey R, Chang KV. Frozen Shoulder. [Updated 2020 Sep 3]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482162/
Morgan B., Jones A., Mulcahy K., Finlay, T., Collet, B. (1996). Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) during distension shoulder arthrography: a controlled trial, Pain, Volume 64, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 265-267, ISSN 0304-3959, https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3959(95)00107-7.
MountainState Orthopedic Associates. (2019). How Long Should You Wait to See a Doctor for Shoulder Pain. Retrieved from MountainState Orthopedic Associates: https://www.mountainstateorthopedic.com/blog/how-long-should-you-wait-to-see-a-doctor-for-shoulder-pain
