OMRON Max Power Relief TENS Unit Muscle Stimulator, Simulated Massage Therapy for Lower Back, Arm, Shoulder, Leg, Foot, and Arthritis Pain, Drug-Free Pain Relief (PM500)

I've been wanting to get a electrotherapy tens unit for years, but they always seemed so complicated and expensive. Omron's new Max Pain Relief is super easy to use and affordable. I have a few tips that have really helped me using this electrotherapy with my chronic back pain and especially sciatica.There are three things I use before I go to sleep at night, using this unit is one. The other two are taking magnesium and using a heating pad.MAGNESIUMI dissolve 2 teaspoons of Natural Vitality Natural Calm product in 1 cup of cool filtered water. Magnesium helps with connective tissue and muscle health. It will also help you sleep by calming down your whole body. You can take this to bed with you and sip on it while use use the electrotherapy and heat treatment.HEATI use Battle Creek 14"x27" moist heating pad. This heating pad gets warmer than average drugstore brand heating pads, is larger, and provides moist heat which is better for your body than dry heat. You don't have to use a moist sponge, it draws moisture from the air, then delivers it the heating area. I lay mine down on the mattress, then place a towel over the top. Then turn the unit on and let it heat up a bit while your placing the electrotherapy electrode on your body. The reason for the heat? I have found this method will increase the effectiveness of the electrotherapy and provide even more relaxation and relief to my body. You can turn in on and off during the session as needed. Make sure not to overheat the area, just keep it comfortably warm.LOCATION OF ELECTRODESOn the package, they provide various locations where you can place the electrodes. In addition, the quick start guide and the instruction manual get into specifics on where to place the electrodes depending on your pain locations. For me, I use my intuition to place the electrodes. Stop for a minute and listen to your body. Where is the pain originating from? Typically it with my sciatica pain in is in my lower back and toward my bottom on the sides. Then choose a spot for the first pad and place it, then put the other one either symmetrically on the opposite side. Or, place the other one 4-6 inches away from the first one, where the pain is radiating to. Really, anything goes here! Instead of following the instructions to a T, I use my instincts to what feels good and right. This will vary from day to day. Sometimes I use this on my should blades or middle of my back along the bottom of my ribcage.MORE ON ELECTRODESThe electrodes they provide will last about 3 months (150 sessions). They have a sticky coating that adheres really well to the skin, but do not leave a residue behind. There is a little holder when you're not using them that will keep them flat and dust free. There is also a little tote bag for that holds the electrodes and the unit it's self. They are $15 bucks for a replacement, so I have a couple packs on hand so I never run out.HOW LONG FOR THE THERAPYThis unit can me used while your working and going about your life, but I have found much more benefit using it in a relaxed state as described above, or even laying on the couch or sitting in a chair. They say you can use it three times a day. Each round is 15 minutes and you can do up to two rounds during one therapy session. For my routine, I do only one therapy session per day (at night), but I do three rounds totaling 45 minutes. I usually move the electrodes between each 15 minute round if my pain is in more than one location or if the pain center moves after each session. I sometimes only do two 15-minute rounds and leave it on one location. It's really up to you. The key is listening to what your body needs and what feels right to you.INTENSITY LEVELThis unit has 9 different settings that will vary the sensation. Then with each setting you can choose an intensity level. Experiment with the 9 different settings. I like the Knead setting best, but I vary that, again depending on what feels right to me on any particular day. During the session, the pulse will change slightly, automatically. This wakes up the connective tissue and provides an awesome therapy treatment! There are 15 intensity levels. I usually run mine at half intensity or less. For me, I don't want to zap my body with a 15 level intensity. It's too hard on my body and I've found it will irritate the connective tissue even more. I find that a 6-8 intensity level is perfect, but that may vary for you. To find the perfect intensity, turn it up till you really feel it pulsing, then turn it down by 2-3 levels. Also, you may want to either increase or decrease the intensity during your sessions. You can do that with this unit, you're in complete control.I love this unit and wish I could give it a ten-star rating. It works great and has provided so much relief! Also, please double-check with your doctor if you have any really bad issues going on. I would highly recommend chiropractic care in conjunction with acupuncture for short-term treatment if you're really in a lot of pain. Stay away from those awful pain medications if you can. A little Advil once in a while can be helpful, but using this therapy I described should keep you drug-free!Please feel free to comment on my review if you have any questions at all.

Great product that has lots of options

Works great!

It works very well. My only gripe is that the LCD screen doesn't have a backlight. It would make it so much easier to read.

look, for the price, this does a great job. it is an older style device with no fancy screen in color, but i have had this same device for 10 years and it still works great. if i have one negative to this product it is the limited availability of pads. this pad is NOT universal to the other manufacturers pads. this had a much smaller snap tab which also makes the cord specific to this device and not interchangeable for other devices. the device also uses AA batteries and it not rechargeable with a type c cable so you could say this is a negative as well. i still have one of two of my older omron devices and lost one to leaking batteries after 10 years use so i just bought a replacement which is the same as the one from 10 years ago. i have also found it to be the easiest to use. all the manufacturers use a silicone type sticky backing for the pads. the pads are a good size but dont have other options for shape and size like other manufacturers. i have noticed that the pads loosen and can drop off when swetting so apply to clean dry skin. im not sure if the other styles hold any better under the same conditions. one warning.... do not lose or throw away the plastic figure 8 piece which is the holder for the pads between use. you cant just stick them face to face between use. all said, i would still recommend this device and gives comfort when muscles are sore and nerves need mild stimulation.

Actually bought this for spouse’s arthritic hands, but a few days after purchase I injured my back and this has been a life saver. I had no idea that it would shorten my healing recovery time, and make it possible for me to return to normal life activity as quickly as it did. Very easy to operate, which is a great plus. The pads do lose their initial sticky quality faster than it claims. But, applying a light moisture lotion to your skin allowing it to absorb before applying the pads helps them stick better then if the skin is dry. Very satisfied with this purchase.

I don’t know how these work, but they do. I own three of these.