Like all treatments, success of PENS therapy for pain relief varies from patient to patient. A single treatment may result in pain relief that lasts from a few hours to a few months, although it’s not unusual for the patient to report total pain relief.
Studies have shown PENS therapy to be effective in providing short-term pain relief in chronic pain conditions. For the active PENS therapies, the median numerical rating scale (NRS) for pain changed from 7.5 (standard deviation [SD] ± 1) (range 6-10) before therapy to 0.5 (range 0-8.5) after therapy.1
Relief may be immediate, or it may take a few days before there is any noticeable difference in your pain levels.
Following the procedure, you’ll be encouraged to keep a daily diary to track your pain levels throughout the day. A commonly-used pain scale rates pain from 0 to 10. Zero (0/10) indicates no pain while 10/10 indicates pain that is almost unbearable. At 10/10 a person can’t think, move or function at all. You should also report whether this pain rating is better, worse, or unchanged from the pain you experienced before treatment.
Sometimes, you may need repeated treatments in order to sustain your pain relief. Unfortunately, like all treatments, PENS therapy doesn’t work for everyone.