| One of the unheard of practices in most hospitals | | | | Ca. who had begun to experiment with the |
| and physical therapy clinics across the U.S. is the | | | | concept. MedFaxx actually purchased the units and |
| practice of allowing a chronic pain patient the free | | | | then consigned to physical therapy clinics so a |
| trial of a tens unit to see if the unit helps alleviate | | | | patient could try the unit to determine if it would |
| the pain. It's a nice practice that originated in early | | | | help or not. If it helped then the unit was |
| 1976 and has continued until today. | | | | purchased or rented depending on the diagnosis |
| The basic premise of allowing a patient, who had | | | | being a chronic or acute pain situation. |
| endured failure after failure of traditional | | | | Many chronic pain patients had basically given up |
| treatments for their pain, to get a free trial was | | | | on trying new treatments since many had been |
| based upon the premise of the belief in the | | | | willing to try drugs, surgeries, and other modalities |
| technology. | | | | yet they still continued to be in pain. To say it |
| In 1976 most manufacturers of these "pain | | | | mildly they had lost tolerance with the traditional |
| machines" were trying to sell their units to physical | | | | treatments for acute pain and ended up with a |
| therapy depts., chiropractic clinics, pain clinics and | | | | diagnosis of chronic pain. |
| neurosurgeons who dealt with chronic pain | | | | Physical Therapists were the one health care |
| patients. Somehow the industry felt that a take | | | | profession that had the training and understanding |
| home, use as needed product, should be | | | | on basic electricity and how our bodies work |
| purchased by the institution to "try on a patient in | | | | electrically and were chosen based upon their |
| the clinic". This was contrary to the purpose of | | | | education and experience in working with electrical |
| the TNS unit. A TNS unit was designed to be | | | | modalities. |
| used in most any setting and worn all day if | | | | The practice has continued and now is the |
| necessary. The patient would turn the unit on | | | | standard for the use of interferential units which |
| when the pain was starting or when undertaking a | | | | are outperforming the traditional tens units for |
| task that normally resulted in pain. The patient | | | | pain relief. |
| then had self control of their chronic pain by being | | | | For some manufacturers and distributors the |
| able to treat as needed without being in a hospital | | | | message of believing in the product never caught |
| or clinical setting. | | | | on and they went to the wayside. For others it |
| Having entered the industry in 1977 it was difficult | | | | was a belief in a new technology that would help |
| to understand why any manufacturer would not | | | | and the distributors took a chance, patient by |
| allow a "free trial of a tens unit" since the ultimate | | | | patient, resulting in a new fair way of patient trials. |
| decision to the unit's effectiveness rested solely | | | | Today no patient should be expected to buy a |
| with a patient. Unlike pain medications the efficacy | | | | tens or interferential unit unless the patient has |
| needed to be established before a purchase | | | | been given a chance to try the unit for a week |
| decision was made. The manufacturers of the | | | | or more. Tens and Interferential units are |
| units would not believe the market was much | | | | consigned liberally across the U.S. for the free |
| larger if they went directly to the person in pain, | | | | trials. |
| not the practictioner. | | | | The practice of consigning tens units to clinics was |
| In late 1977 the consignment of tens was started | | | | novel at the time but it turned out to be the right |
| in physical therapy depts. in North Carolina after | | | | and fair way if you believed in your product. Now |
| copying the practice of a company out of La Jolla, | | | | to apply that to the drug industry.. |