(Part 2) Best muscle stimulators & accessories according to redditors

I'm not a lawyer but it does not sound bulletproof to me. Lawyers can twist things every which way.

If I were you I would research those electronic muscle simulation massagers and see what regulations they are sold under. You may have to comply to the same thing.

These do put current trough the human body but there are a ton of safety limitations built in. Current limiting and isolation are only two I am aware of. Notice how all of these are battery only. You will never find one that is mains powered outside of a hospital.

Oh sure thing. I bought it for myself for chronic knee pain due to arthritis and cartilage wear, but it works wonderfully for electro play too.

FDA TENS Unit and EMS Combination Muscle Stimulator with 2 Channels, 12 Modes for Pain Management https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IPPWNF6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_chE4AbPPNP6GX

Sort of joining in the chorus here, but yep, that sounds like a muscle spasm. Chronic, gnarly, treatment-resistant muscle spasms are super common with EDS- they're usually associated with a particularly unstable joint, what your muscles freak out overcompensating for, but can be caused by other things as well.

The "zingy" nerve pain is probably caused by impingement- either by the unstable joint subluxing onto it, or the spasmed muscles squeezing the crap out of it. Given your description of the timing, it's probably a subluxation. My random IANAD guess would be AC joint, just because your description sounds a lot like what happens when mine slips.

Treating these things is a bitch and a half. Here are some of the things I do, which help somewhat.

• When it first starts, some self-administered trigger-point masage can sometimes stop it. Here are some tools I use: Neck knobby thing, spine knobby thing, foam roller. You can also use tennis balls or lacross balls, but I uh.. broke them \^\^;;;
  
• Aspercreme / Blue Emu - I find the classic Trolamine Salicylate works best for me, but if you have an aspirin allergy, or if Lidocaine works better for you, they make a version with that as the active instead. There's also a spray form for when an area is too tender to touch. They can be a little pricey, but Amazon has a Subscribe & Save discount on them, which helps.
  
• Combine the above with Tiger Balm or Icy Hot, if you can tolerate them, and I find it makes them more effective than either separately. I think they maybe help the ingredients in the above penetrate better?
  
• If you can get it, adding a final layer of CBD lotion or oil is extra effective. I use Ethos Muscle Melt.
  
• Slap a quality heating pad with a washable cover on the above and bake that shit in- (NOTE: I AM DEFINITELY NOT A DOCTOR, AND THE ASPERCREME LABEL SPECIFICALLY SAYS NOT TO DO THIS but damned if it isn't effective and at this point I'll do anything that works?)
  
• If that fails, grab some alcohol swabs to wipe all that shit I just recommended off from a few spots and then use a TENS unit.
  
• Medicate: this part is obviously dependent on your own rxs and state legislature, etc, but muscle relaxants and CBD are helpful things to have. For an OTC option, I've found that some antihistamines can be useful, but then again I've got MCAS as a complication so YMMV.
  
• Physical therapy- PTs often recommend certain stretches to help prevent spasms, but in my experience, every single time they have at best done nothing and at worst they've triggered/exacerbated them. I have had some good results with exercises designed to strengthen the unstable joint that caused the whole mess, though-
  very light, irritatingly soft and repetitive exercises that drive me crazy but actually are maybe kind of effective? BUT I AM NOT A DOCTOR.
  
  Hopefully this will be of some use. I swear some of the worst pain I've experienced in EDS has been from muscle spasms, geez.

I researched online and bought this model. I haven't used it enough to say it works for me long term. iReliev TOP-BEST TENS Massager Unit Bundle for Pain Relief! The iReliev Bundle IS 100% Guaranteed or Money Back. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MERK3TU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_PrdKBb5Z07YTA

I’ve gotten the “it’s all in your head” as well. Talking to a psychiatrist and treating the depression caused by chronic pain really has helped me. I had some emotional stuff I hadn’t dealt with. Once I did and erected some boundaries with toxic people in my life, I feel much better.

My best suggestion is to get treated at a university health center. They’ve seen more and are used to seeing the sickest patients. You can also find doctors on support group sites for different diseases.

The insurance companies aren’t paying for the stims. Fuck Trump. My Dh is in the same situation. He has gotten some relief from [TENS units](Vive Stim Machine TENS Unit - Electrotherapy Muscle Stimulator With Electrode Pads - Neurostimulation EKG Pulse Massager for Neuropathy, Back Pain Relief, Sciatica, Diabetic Nerve - OTC Rechargeable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LXYE46U/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_KzRxCb2K015DQ)

This thing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074V3JRPP

Really, they charge $50 to use a TENS unit? (link for those who don't know what it is). When I was in therapy, I bought a portable one for just over $100 US. It was well worth it. I'd be happy to send it to you except I still use it on occasion.
Amazon has one for about $110 that seems to have some great reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/HealthmateForever-electrotherapy-Therapeutic-acupuncture-fibromyalgia/dp/B00AY0B8BQ/ref=sr_1_23?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1367502101&sr=1-23&keywords=tens+unit+muscle+stimulator

HealthmateForever TENS unit Pro12AB.

This is one of the more expensive things on my wishlist, but it's the thing I'd like the most at the moment so here goes. I'm fascinated with electrical simulation devices. There's a few more expensive ones on my wishlist that have some bells and whistles that would mostly be just for fun. But this one I'd like to have to help ease my back pain. I have some upper back pain from a car accident from four years ago which is mostly manageable with NSAIDs. In the past year I've been getting some very unpleasant lower back pain that's probably caused by a mix of damage from the car accident and poor posture during my adolescence. This unit looks to be a good compromise of quality and features without breaking the bank too much. Still a bit pricey, though.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00KB3RENM/ref=aw_wl_ov_dp_2_12?colid=3GLRUTR3LZ90M&coliid=I2DYYI10XQBJNN

Interesting! Thanks for the explanation.

Yeah, EMS is a godsend. It has made everything so much more bearable, and I would hate to go back to not owning one. It’s not like I use mine even every other day, but, when I do use it, it saves me from several days of pain. If you decide to try it, be careful when ordering one as there is a lot of shifty marketing — sometimes calling things “stims” or “pulse massagers” when they don’t know what the waveforms actually are, but those results will still show up when you search for EMS. Some places also try to charge really extreme prices for them.

My first EMS was from HiDow, but theirs are stupid expensive (doubly-so since they’re just rebranded devices). It was given to me as a promotion by the company, and it introduced me to EMS so I’m very grateful for that, but I’d never buy one because they’re too expensive. The battery also sucked.

Last week I actually replaced my TENS and the HiDow EMS with a combined unit. I bought two different ones from Amazon to test out, and actually both are great.

[This one is the one I think I’m keeping](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00USXKC52?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf. It has two channels so you can work on two different areas at once, and each channel can have the intensity set independently. It offers a TENS mode and an EMS mode, but there are no combined modes (I don’t know why you would want one, though). The display also tells you which mode you are using, which you think would be a common feature but actually is very uncommon. The next part is a bit hard to describe, but the downside to this one is that there are no “programs” that you can run. The pre-sets only adjust the width and speed of the pulses, whereas on the other unit (and my HiDow) there are pre-set patterns of pulses —

I use this one for my chronic hand pain. It has plenty of power and it’s rechargeable so you don’t go through 9V's like crazy.

TENS electrode pads. Used in many electro-stim/measure situations. Reading electric signal or giving minor pulses to stimulate muscles. I've had these used on my knee both ways, to measure which muscles were firing after major surgery to stimulating the muscles to aid in rehabilitation. I have two portable TENS devices myself, they're wonderful.


https://www.amazon.com/TENS-Electrodes-Premium-Replacement-Discount/dp/B0181CS9TW/ref=sr_1_18?keywords=tens%2Bpads&qid=1566711517&s=gateway&sr=8-18&th=1

I have one just like this, but possibly a different brand. Personally, I LOVE it Santamedical Dual Channel TENS Unit/EMS Unit Electrotherapy Pain Relief Device https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIKYYVG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_za8IDbR5SJ6PQ

iReliev TENS Unit Electronic Pulse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RZRZ36W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_SjGzCbZZE7NY4

This would helps tons releasing my stress in my back and help my self care better