Millions of people around the world today have discovered the benefits of nerve stimulation via TENS. Yet the treatment has been around for much longer than today. Let's take a look at its genesis history that goes back further than you might think...
TENS before the 20th century
Indeed, the first similar to TENS treatments occurred as far back as antiquity. Although there were no scientific studies on electricity for a long time and artificial generation of electricity only followed centuries later, there are sources that prove that the Egyptians and Romans used electrical impulses to treat pain long before Christ. For example, they used electric eels and catfish to generate the shocks.
In the late 18th century, electric pulses were used as an anaesthetic for surgical procedures. By the mid-19th century, however, this method of anaesthesia was replaced by anaesthesia, which was much more effective.
TENS during the 20th century
The big breakthrough for electrical stimulation therapy came in the 1960s, when Ronald Melzac and Patrick Wall's Gate Theory took hold. The theory states that the central nervous system is able to modulate pain stimuli, that, in other words, acts as a gateway, allowing pain to pass through to a greater or lesser extent. By stimulating the nervous system, for example through a TENS device, it was then possible to block the transmission of the pain signal (from the nerves to the brain). A huge breakthrough.
However, there was one other problem: the devices that could be used were still far too large and impractical. It was waiting for the breakthrough of microelectronics, which would make them more compact and cheaper, so that even individuals could buy a device.
Since the late 1980s, TENS and EMS have become staples of pain management therapy.
