ridecamp@endurance.net: RE: TENS

RE: TENS

Mike Sofen (miksof7@gte.net)
Mon, 8 Dec 1997 21:19:17 -0800

I purchased a unit from Tom Ivers for what was diagnosed as a =
potentially serious tendon injury to my horse (on the ultrasound, it =
showed as a lesion within the tendon). The vet was thinking of keeping =
him out of action for up to a year. My intuition was telling me it =
wasn't THAT serious, but I'm not a vet and certainly not a leg =
specialist - I just have a good feel for this horse.

Anyway, I did the standard protocol of stall rest, no grain, bute, icing =
the leg every day. The unit arrived on the 5th day of confinement and I =
used it for 1-3 hours each evening for ten days. The unit works by =
stimulating the muscles ABOVE the knee; by contracting them, the tendons =
are moved and fluids pump in the lower leg. It fires 2-4 times a =
second, so a 3 hour session produces between 2-4,000 contractions, =
equivilent to a nice workout, without leaving his stall.

I cannot tell if the it was the TENS unit, or it was a more mild tendon =
strain or adhesion breaking loose. All I know is, I was riding him =
lightly at 14 days and gradually returned to serious workouts by the end =
of the month. He has not been lame since.=20

Keeping fluids out of the tendon is critical, and this unit seems to do =
that quite well. There is also anecdotal evidence that the replacement =
tendon fibers grow back in parallel, rather than the crosslink mass of =
scar tissue that is the standard response.

I'm sold on the device, and will keep one handy for the rest of my horse =
career.

Mike Sofen
Seattle

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Shaw [SMTP:sshaw@pacbell.net]
Sent: Monday, December 08, 1997 7:32 PM
To: ridecamp@endurance.net
Subject: TENS

TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulator.

These units send a high voltage low amperage electric pulse through the=20
skin and tissue in a pulsing method. They are typically used to control=20
or divert pain in chronic cases. I have not heard of them used in=20
healing and would be skeptical.

Steve Shaw

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