Can A Tens Unit Help With Erectile Dysfunction? (Increase Blood Flow)

Erectile dysfunction is brutal on a man’s psyche and it has little to do with ego. Men want to please their partners and there’s no doubt that erectile dysfunction is a major blow to that desire. It also means that desperation for a solution becomes more commonplace and that’s not always a good thing.

TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) Unit treatments can help treat erectile dysfunction. What the treatment does is address the underlying conditions that contribute to erectile dysfunction along with stimulating the smooth muscles that make up the penis. 

Even more importantly, smooth muscles are far more responsive to electrical stimulation than skeletal and cardiac muscles. TENS unit treatments have the added advantage in that they treat surrounding areas and issues that directly correlate with erectile dysfunction.

How Do TENS Unit Treatments Work?

A TENS unit treatment is similar to electro-muscle stimulation you may receive at a chiropractor. Using gel as a conductor and sticky electrode pads, a device the size of a smartphone passes an electrical current through the electrode pads, initiating an opioid-like response to the targeted areas.
It consists of several parts:

• The electrical stimulus generator device
• The wiring from the device to the electrode pads
• The electrode pads that stick to the painful area
• Gel used to conduct electricity

TENS unit treatments were—in many ways—an alternative to opioids when it comes to long-term treatment of chronic pain. The treatment induces a physical response that is similar to how the body reacts to opioids, but specific to an area of the body.

Rather than a whole-body pain reliever that triggers dependency through psychological and physical means—as it is used ver time—TENS unit treatments target specific areas of the body, which are the areas where the pain is located. It works for acute pain as well, and in the same way.

TENS unit therapy works by stimulating a physiological response that’s similar to opioid response but only to the targeted area. It does this through what is called the gate control theory. So what does any of this have to do with erectile dysfunction? 

Want to know where to place a TENS pad to treat ED?

Closely Follow the Instructions

Some TENS units come with only a few settings and others come with a lot more. The TENS devices that have a wide range of settings generally mean you have a broadened degree of control over how intense you want the settings to be.

For chronic and ongoing pain, you should keep your treatment settings somewhere between 2 Hz and 10 Hz. That doesn’t sound like much but it’s great for multiple, small treatments throughout the day when you’re dealing with ongoing, long-term plantar fasciitis. 

To deal with moderate pain, set the frequency between 35 Hz and 50 Hz. Acute, high levels of pain may require you to go as high as 80 Hz to 120 Hz. Of course, you have to be careful when adjusting to very high settings. 

You’re dealing with very high current, after all, and a TENS device is more than capable of doing the exact opposite of relieving pain. It can even burn the skin if you set it too high. The best method is the experimental one. Adjust the Hz between the settings for the kind of pain you’re dealing with. 

Only make small adjustments at a time and allow some time on a single setting to see how your feet feel before you adjust the frequency even higher. The idea is to relieve pain, not create more pain and problems for yourself. 

Why Should You Trust Me?

I have extensively used TENS units for neck, shoulder, back and heel pain. I’m certified by Relias Academy in TENS, interferential electrical stimulation, and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES). With over 10 years of TENS unit therapy experience, I feel confident that my recommendations can help you lessen the aches and pains of everyday life.

How Does TENS Unit Therapy Alleviate Erectile Dysfunction?

The TENS unit triggers what is called neovascularization, which is what kick starts the formation of new blood vessels. This will increase the overall blood flow to the penis, contributing to an erection.

The initial reaction to most in the scientific and health communities has been predictable in that no one recommends you stick electrode pads on your penis in order to stimulate the underlying tissue and achieve an erection.

However, there are studies that show promise using that very same methodology. The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine conducted a study that was primarily focused on neurogenic erectile dysfunction which concluded that electrostimulation showed promise in treating ED.

Urology Annals also conducted a similar and successful study in 2015, showing the potential efficacy of electrostimulation treatments for erectile dysfunction. So it’s not as if this were a new and misunderstood treatment for erectile dysfunction.

The problem revolves around medication versus an infinite treatment device such as a TENS unit. 

TENS units are relatively inexpensive and you can use the device over and over again, as much as you like with zero side effects and no ongoing payment plan or system.

When it comes to making money, billions of dollars are made over ongoing, prescription Viagra or other generic brands. Once you purchase a TENS machine, no one is making any money anymore.

This probably explains the lack of enthusiasm over further testing and studies. 
There are a lot of benefits to a TENS machine:

• Relatively Inexpensive
• No side effects
• The procedure is not painful
• You can use it when you need it
• No ongoing payments
• The machine is easy to use

Given that, it’s no wonder that TENS unit machines are growing in popularity, especially amongst men.

To see other places you can place a TENS unit click here.

Does TENS Unit Increase Blood Flow?

This is likely due to a reduced sympathetic response that induces vasodilation and relieves pain (42). TENS may improve blood flow and thus stimulate the healing of varying types of wounds.

 Where Can You Get A TENS Unit For Erectile Dysfunction?

There are a lot of TENS units available for purchase and you do not need to get one prescribed to you through a doctor. You simply get online, shop for the one you want, purchase it, and wait for it to arrive in the mail.

iReliev

The iReliev is one of the top-rated TENS units in the entire market for electrostimulation devices. It’s priced a bit higher than the TENS 7000 but it’s also small, with a full LCD display, and simple to keep in a pocket.

One of the best reasons to get the iReliev is that the intensity setting can be controlled much better than the typical TENS Unit. When using the TENS on such a sensitive part of the body being able to slightly increase the intensity level is vital,

It lasts 3 to 5 hours on a single charge, has 14 separate programs, and has an adjustable output from 0mA to 80mA. It comes with four small electro pads and two large ones to fit just about any need that you have.

All Things Considered

TENS unit therapy shows a lot of promise towards effectively treating erectile dysfunction. It’s also a personal therapy that you can purchase and apply on your own. A major problem for men who suffer from ED is having to talk about it with their doctors. 

The anonymous nature of a device that requires no prescription and is showing a lot of promise through scientific studies is a dream come true and something that any man suffering from ED should try.