TENS Method: Non-Pharmacological Method for Cancer Patients

TENS Method
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TENS Method
Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a non-pharmacological method to manage a range of chronic pain problems like cancer. Its primary goal is to offer symptomatic pain relief by stimulating sensory nerves (Gibson et al., 2019). It also aims to provide a possible adjunctive approach for cancer pain treatment with minimal side effects. People who experience pain relief from TENS can reduce their pain medication intake, some of which can be addictive or cause adverse side effects. As such, the TENS method impacts nursing practice by providing an alternative pain management approach with fewer side effects compared to pain medication intake.
The benefit of this method is that it provides significantly greater pain relief (Loh & Gulati, 2015). Also, TENS devices are portable, easy to use, and have few adverse effects. The disadvantage of this method is that it produces electrical impulses that can cause a buzzing, tingling, or prickling sensation, which most patients may find uncomfortable (Gibson et al., 2019). A TENS machine can also cause drying of the skin, cause burns if used inappropriately, and accelerate tumor growth if used directly on tumors (Loh & Gulati, 2015).
Challenges and Solutions
One of the challenges of the TENS method is pad adhesion. ...