Hi, I am a 58 yrs old female and recently had a total hip replacement -Aug 2011. Before I had the operation I was using a tens machine for atleast 6 months to alleviate back pain and hip pain with quite a bit of success (ruptured a disc between L4 and L5 abt 8 yrs ago) which reduced my use of pain killers drastically. My hip is feeling better every day but am still troubled by back pain. When I asked the Ortho Surgeon if I could use the tens machine post operation he shook his head and said better not to. I feel his answer came not so much from scientific reason but from his lack of faith in the machine to reduce pain. In the mean time I continue to need strong pain killers to manage my back pain knowing that I could be getting the relief I need from the tens machine if I knew for sure that it would not compromise my hip replacement. Please can you advise me? Regards, Christine
Hello, Based on your description of complaints what I can say is that there are mixed reports on safety of TENS machine use in presence of implants. This is because there is a risk of currents stimulating the metal implants inside and raising the temperature around the implants and soft tissues. This has been questioned by some saying that battery operated TENS machines (also called passive machines) do not cause any side effects. Best is to avoid its usage now and use other pain relieving modalities like local pain relieving gel or balm application, muscle relaxants and massage therapy. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. 