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Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) works by using an electrical pulse to stimulate muscle contractions so that your muscles essentially massage themselves. Your muscle’s own metabolism will generate heat that relieves pain and stiffness while improving mobility in your jaw.
The TENS device consists of adhesive electrode patches that attaches to your jaw at the hinge and to other areas where your TMJ pain may radiate, such as your neck. The electrodes deliver low-voltage electrical currents that block the nerves in your jaw from transmitting pain sensations to your brain.
Instead of pain, your brain feels the pleasant, tingling, massage-like sensations of the TENS current. Your nerve pathways can only transmit one type of sensation at a time, so the sensation of the TENS treatment overrides the sensation of pain. The TENS current also stimulates your body to produce endorphins, which dull pain and create a sense of wellbeing.
By overriding pain signals, the TENS treatment may also allow your jaw muscles to relax, instead of clenching against the pain. Relaxed jaw muscles, in turn, could lessen the degree of stress and tension in your jaw, and reduce your TMJ pain.
Use TENS at home
After the doctor shows you how to attach the TENS electrodes to relieve your TMJ pain, he/ she also calibrates your device so that you can use it at home, whenever you need it. The TENS device is small, portable, and battery-powered.
Depending on the degree of relief you feel with TENS, you may not need any other pain-related treatments. Many patients cut back on or completely eliminate medications they were taking for TMJ before TENS. However, TENS doesn’t correct structural problems in your jaw, so you may still need to wear a splint or bite guard.