10 Best Tens Units 2024 in the US

You might think that TENS units are something that you learned in math in elementary school. Actually, “TENS” stands for “Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation”. In simpler terms, it is an electrotherapy device that applies a mild electric current to your skin by means of electrodes. You attach the electrodes in certain areas where you experience pain, either due to arthritis, injury, or soreness. The electric current stimulates your muscles and can simulate the effect of getting a massage. The TENS unit’s electrodes can be applied to your waist, shoulder, legs, soles of the feet, and more. Even if you’re not suffering from muscle stiffness or pain, TENS units can help you get warmed up before exercise and help condition your muscles. Some units have special settings that can imitate a kneading or beating feeling. And TENS units are quite portable--most units are no bigger than a cellular phone!

We've put together this guide to help you select the best TENS unit that answers to your needs. It'll help you:

• Choose the right type of TENS unit,

• See useful tips about that particular type of TENS unit,

• Read reviews of different brands of TENS unit, and what customers are saying,

• Select the right brand of TENS unit, and

• Compare prices and find the best deals.

TENS is just one version of electrical stimulation techniques. It is designed to stimulate the nerves. It is theorized that as the nerves are occupied with the TENS stimulation, they won’t deliver pain messages to the brain. TENS is thus a therapy to reduce pain. (It should be distinguished from another very common electrical stimulation therapy, EMS (=electrical muscle stimulation). This uses electrical pulses to create a stimulus that gets the muscles to contract. This is used for the rehabilitation of patients who have become immobilized, as well as for recovery in the case of muscle injury.)

We can see two main types of TENS units:

• Applied directly to skin: There are TENS units which you place directly on the skin where you are suffering pain. An example is the Veridian Healthcare Rechargeable TENS Pain Management Solution. It has the advantage of not having any confusing wires and a simpler operation overall. The disadvantage is that you have to order a replacement pad if your unit stops adhering properly to your skin.

Veridian Healthcare Rechargeable TENS Pain Management Solution

• Separate handheld device: There are also TENS units that consist of a handheld control unit, with a number of electrodes that you attach to any part of your body where you are experiencing pain. An example is the Tenker TENS Unit Rechargeable Massager Machine. It has four pairs of electrodes, in different shapes. You match two of the electrodes and apply them to the affected area.

Tenker TENS Unit Rechargeable Massager Machine

• Portability: Most TENS units are portable devices, no larger than a typical cell phone. That means that you can attach the device to an area where you suffer from arthritis or muscle soreness, and let the device massage you, even if you’re walking or driving.

• Share it with a friend: In the devices with a number of electrodes, they have dual output: This gives you the option of treating several areas of your body at once. Or, you can use several pairs of electrodes, while a friend uses other pairs.

• Warnings: Check if the device that you are considering has FDA approval. There are three classes of approval: Class I devices present a low to moderate risk. Class II devices have a moderate to high risk. Most TENS units fall in the Class II category. (There are also Class III devices, which have a high risk, such as pacemakers or other implants.) Be cautious when buying a TENS unit. There are certain people who should use the TENS device only with a doctor’s approval:

  1. You shouldn’t use the device for undiagnosed chronic pain.

  2. The treatment is not suitable for pregnant women.

  3. The device is not for people with hypertension. People with a pacemaker, defibrillator, or another electronic implant should not use a TENS device.

  4. You should not use the unit when it is being charged, either through a USB connection or via the AC adapter.

• The number of massage modes: Different TENS devices will provide you with different massage options. For example, the 16-Mode TENS Electronic Pulse Massager offers you 16 different types of massages: knead, cupping, parego, massage, kneading, stroke, acupuncture, butterfly, shiatsu deep, sport, Thai, Swedish, deep tissue, trigger point, reflexology, and an auto-combination massage.

• The number of intensity levels: Many TENS devices have an LCD screen, which lets you select the massage mode and the intensity. The Nursal TENS Unit has 6 main modes and a choice of 2 to 4 varieties in each mode. It lets you change the intensity to any one of 20 different levels. It has an important feature that when you change modes, it reverts back to the minimal intensity until you dial it up again. This way, you avoid any unpleasant “surprises”.

• Timer: A timer is an important feature on the TENS massager. Most units, such as the Nursal TENS Unit Rechargeable Massager has a default time for the massage session of 20 minutes, but you can dial it down to only 10 minutes, or up to 60 minutes. It has a rechargeable battery which allows for 10 hours of continuous use. You can apply the electrodes to different parts of your body, as you feel necessary.

• Things to be aware of when applying pads: It’s recommended to apply a few drops of water to one of the pads, so as to increase its adhesiveness. Also, make sure that your skin is clean of dirt or lotions before attaching an electrode. If the electrode starts to lose its adhesiveness (and even water won’t help), you should order replacement pads from the company. Some devices, such as the Veridian Healthcare Rechargeable TENS Unit, use a gel that is the same gel when conducting an ultrasound. That allows the electrode to attach without any problem.

Tenker designs and manufactures a wide variety of electronic devices: projectors, shiatsu and compression massagers, digital picture frames and cameras, DVD players, WiFi cameras, and much more.

Veridian Healthcare is a distributor of diagnostic health products and medical equipment. They were founded in 2009 by Steve Bisulca and Mike Mazza, and are located in Gurnee, Illinois. They sell blood pressure meters, pain management tools, respiratory equipment, thermometers, stethoscopes, and more.

Nursal is a maker of various massaging devices. They make a shiatsu neck, back, and shoulder massager that employs heat, TENS units, hand and foot massagers, foot spas, as well as water flossers, scales, blood oxygen saturation monitors, and more.

Ireliev, located in Southlake, Texas, is a maker of electrotherapy devices. They make TENS and EMS systems, pain relief and recovery systems, muscle stimulators, and more.