Boots 3 in 1 Maternity T.E.N.S. (TENS Pain Relief Unit)

Member Name: websterhazel

Product:	TENS Pain Relief Unit
Date:	19/02/01 (6429 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It helps a great deal with back pain and with muscle toning after birth

Disadvantages: Expensive

This tens machine is specially designed for all three stages of motherhood. This is not a product that you can hire; this has to be purchased due to the three uses of the machine.

It can help you during pregnancy to ease back pain, during childbirth for drug free pain control and afterwards to help tone abdominal muscles back into their prior shape. It can also help with any back pain that may still exist after childbirth.

Due to the fact that I was induced and didn't experience labour (I had to have an emergency caesarean section) I could not comment on how effective it was during childbirth personally. If you are using it for this purpose, however, you should place two of the rectangular pads provided at either side of the spinal column approximately 2 inches apart and three inches below the bottom of your shoulder blades. A further two pads should be placed approximately 1 inch above your bottom and 3 inches apart at either side of the spinal column. There are three phases of pain relief which can be used depending on which stage of labour you are in, these are represented by L1, L2 and L3 and are obtained by pressing the function button. L1 is for the early stages of labour, L2 is to be used when your contractions begin to intensify and L3 is for use immediately before you begin to push. You can move between modes and intensity levels to assist with these different stages of pain by pressing the mode button and then the up and down buttons as required.

This tens machine really does help for the back pain experienced during pregnancy. I suffered from back pain almost all the way through my pregnancy and used the tens machine to help with it on a regular basis.

If you are using it for this purpose then you should wait until you are over twelve weeks pregnant, it is not recommended for use before then. For back pain you should use four of the round pads provided and attach two pads to your lower back, at one side of
the spine and the other two in a mirroring position. The back pain function is identified by the letters BP and this can be selected using the function button on the tens control unit. Once this function is selected there are three levels of pain relief, E, F and G, that can be selected using the mode button. You can then alter the intensity levels accordingly using the up and down buttons.

I also used this after pregnancy to help regain the tone in my stomach muscles. I was slightly sceptical about the chances of this working and did not think that it would help. Surprisingly enough it really did help. I couldn't use the tens machine for this purpose for at least two months after the birth because I had to allow my incision to heal up fully first. But as soon as I had the all clear I did try it and was happy with the results. Everything isn't perfect yet and I will probably start going to a gym to try and tone up other parts of my body too but I do recommend this for the parts that it can help with. If you have had a caesarean section, however, and use this for toning then the pads must be positioned above and not on or below the incision. You can use either four or eight of the circular pads and there are several different ways in which these pads can be positions. These are all detailed in the booklet that you receive with the tens machine. The muscle toning function is represented by the letters MT and can be selected once again using the function button. You then have a choice of three different modes, H, I and J, which can be intensified or reduced accordingly using the up and down buttons as required.

The tens machine works by sending electrical impulses into the nervous system and they stimulate your body to produce natural pain killing endorphins. For toning the gentle vibrations from the tens machine helps to work the abdominal muscles without having to do much strenuous exercise, this is wonderful for after childbir
th when you may not feel physically up to exercise. However, it is not recommended to use it until 6 weeks after natural childbirth.

Buying a product like this is ideal if it is the pain relief you would like to have during labour. This is because many maternity wards only have one tens machine each and it is only available on a first come first served basis. Two of my closest friends became pregnant not long after I became pregnant with my son, one of them has already used it for the birth of her daughter in November and the second used it for her labour over the fourth and fifth of March. She tells me that she used it pretty much all the way through her labour and it really did help a great deal.

The 3 in 1 tens machine comes complete with the following items:

One tens control unit
A set of four pads for use in childbirth
Two packs of four circular pads to be used for back pain and/or muscle toning
Three 1.5 volt AA (LR6) Alkaline batteries
Instruction booklet and video
One neck cord with snap connector.

These are all contained in a durable plastic case with a handle for easy transportation. It also has a two-year Boots guarantee. Please note, however, that if you suffer from a heart condition or have a pacemaker it is not recommended to use this product.

Summary: