TensCare Sports TENS 2 Instructions For Use Manual

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TensCare Ltd, 9 Blenheim Road, Longmead Business Park,
Epsom, Surrey KT19 9BE, UK Tel [phone]
Email: [e-mail] www.tenscare.com

INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Pub Ref I-SPT2-UK Rev 1.0 10.12

Distributed by:

Sports TENS 2

0473

WWW.TENSMACHINES.CO.UK

TENS MED

WWW.TENSMACHINES.CO.UK

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

Page No
1 Introduction 1
2 Contents 2
3 How TENS works 2
4 How EMS works 3

4.1 EMS successfully rebuilds and tones muscles 4

4.2 Relaxing applications 4

4.3 Mode of operation 4

4.4 Treatment time and treatment interval 5

4.5 Choosing the right strength 5
5 Stimulation parameters 6
6 Controls and Displays 9
7 The Programmes 13

7.1 TENS Programmes 13

7.2 EMS Programmes 14

7.3 Massage Programmes 17
8 Positioning of Electrode Pads 18

8.1 Electrode placement for TENS 18

8.2 Electrode placement for EMS 20

8.3 Electrode placement for Massage 24
9 General Pad Advice 25
10 The Belt Clip 25
11 Troubleshooting 25
12 Caution and Warnings 26
13 Cleaning 26
14 Charging the battery 27
15 Guarantee 27
16 Consumables and servicing 28
17 WEEE 28
18 Technical Specifications 29
19 EMC Precautions 30
20 TENS Dermatomes 32
21 EMS Electrode placement chart 34

Sports TENS 2

1. INTRODUCTION

The Sports TENS 2 is a multi-purpose combination unit that offers the latest in
electro muscle stimulation and TENS.

It has three basic functions, which can be used in combination:

1 . Stimulation of sensory nerves for Pain Relief (TENS).

2. Stimulation of motor nerves and muscle tissue (EMS) to build and
alter muscle function

3. A massage effect.

To achieve this, the device has two independent stimulation channels and four self
adhesive electrodes. It offers a choice from a large number of settings designed to
increase general wellbeing, alleviate pain, maintain physical fitness, aid relaxation,
revitalize muscles and combat fatigue. You can either select these settings from
preset programmes or determine them yourself according to your requirements.

• Powerful

Sports TENS is a powerful fitness and performance muscle stimulator for
body toning, shaping, beauty and relaxation. It has TENS settings to relieve
pain due to injury and over-training. Gentle massage is provided for relaxation
and de-stressing.

• Multiple Functions

Sports TENS is flexible enough to help with all stages of training and recovery.
It has 27 EMS programmes, 10 TENS programmes, 10 massage programmes
and 8 user defined programmes enabling you to experiment and save your
favourite settings – unrivalled performance for a product of this size and price.

• Memory

Sufficient memory for a 30 day exercise programme comprising of 3 uses a
day. The memory records usage time and average intensity used. For training,
this enables you to keep an exercise diary, for rehabilitation and pain relief it
offers an objective treatment record.

Special Features

•

Li-Ion mobile phone style battery making it lightweight and compact, and is

supplied complete with external charger.

• Unique locking lead connection and built-in cable tidy

• Backlit LCD screen

Whenever a button is pressed the screen will light up making the screen easy
to read and very clear.

• Comfortable strength Control

Each step in strength is small, thereby maximising the comfort level.

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2. CONTENTS

• Sports TENS 2 unit with belt clip

• CM5050 pack of 4 self adhesive electrodes

• 2 x L-ST2 Connecting Lead wire

• B-BL6F Li-ion battery type BL-6F

• Charging cradle

• Power adaptor

• Instruction booklet

• Transit pouch

3. HOW TENS WORKS

TENS stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. TENS stimulates
your body’s own natural defences against pain. It is totally safe, and has been used
successfully by thousands of pain sufferers.

TENS sends a gentle stimulation through the skin which works in TWO ways:-

Pain Gate

Stimulating the sensory nerves, which carry touch and temperature signals. These
nerves go to the same connections in the spine as the nerves carrying pain. A strong
sensory signal will block the pain signal travelling up the spine to the brain. This
is known as closing the “Pain Gate” and takes effect quite quickly after the unit is
switched on. You can use TENS several times a day, for as long as you like.

Endorphin Release

At low frequency settings, and slightly stronger output, TENS drives the motor
nerves to produce a small repetitive muscle contraction. This is seen by the brain as
exercise, and this promotes release of Endorphins – your body’s own natural pain
killer. The relief builds up and normally takes about 40 minutes to reach a maximum
level which can last for hours after the machine is switched off.

By using TENS you can expect to achieve a significant reduction in pain if not
complete pain relief.

Side Effects

There are no known side effects to TENS use and long-term TENS use is not harmful.

Positioning the electrodes for TENS

The TENS effect is confined to the nerves entering a single vertebra in the spine. To
be effective, you therefore need to stimulate a sensory nerve entering the spine at
the same level as the nerve carrying the pain. For this reason electrodes are usually
first placed where the greatest pain is felt. Nerves follow the curve of the ribs, and
spiral around the limbs, so you will need to try different positions until you find the
best for you. Try moving the electrodes short distances to establish the positions
that are most effective for you.

TENS is clinically tested and approved for many applications including:

• Back pain, and lumbar and cervical spine problems

• Joint pain (e.g. knee joint, hip joint, shoulder)

• Neuralgia

• Headaches • Women’s period pains

• Pain after injuries to musculoskeletal system

• Pain with circulatory problems

• Chronic pain through various causes

4. E.M.S.: WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT WORKS

EMS stands for Electrical Muscle Stimulation and is a widespread and generally
recognized method that has been used for years in sports and rehabilitation
medicine. In the sports and fitness field, one of the uses of EMS is as a
supplement to conventional muscle training, in order to increase the efficiency of
muscle groups and adapt physical proportions to the desired aesthetic results.
EMS has two main applications. Firstly, a targeted strengthening of musculature
can be produced (Activating application) and secondly a relaxing, resting effect
can also be achieved (Relaxing application).

4.1 EMS successfully rebuilds and tones muscles.

Different levels of muscle contraction are achieved by sending electrical impulses
of various types, depending on the programme selected, into the body. These
muscle contractions retrain the muscles, increase their effectiveness and improve
their condition. This is beneficial where muscles - for whatever reason - have
not been in regular use and have lost condition (muscle atrophy). For sports, the
benefit is to increase the effect of training and enhance performance.
Typical uses are: -

• Muscle training to improve endurance performance

• Muscle training to support the strengthening of certain muscles or muscle

groups in order to achieve desired changes to body proportions.

• Sports training, covering - warm-up, strength, speed, power, resistance,

endurance and recovery

• Rehabilitation in relation to sports injury.

The effect on muscle tone of electrical stimulation (EMS) is generally only
noticeable after regularly repeated application. Electrical stimulation does not
replace regular exercising of the muscle, but is able to reasonably supplement it.

Muscle wastage: EMS is used in the treatment of medical conditions involving

muscle wastage including: Neuromuscular facilitation - Muscle reeducation

- Muscle training - Prevention/slowing of atrophy/hypotrophy - Preventing
postoperative muscle weakness - Reduction of spasticity - Maintaining or
increasing range of motion - Training of partial peripheral nerve damage with
signs of reinnervation - Treatment of scoliosis .

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4.2 Relaxing applications includes the following:

• Muscle relaxation in order to loosen up muscular tension

• Improving muscular fatigue symptoms

• Accelerating muscle regeneration after high muscular performance

(e.g. after a marathon). Through integrated massage technology, the Sports
TENS Digital TENS/EMS also offers the possibility of reducing muscular
tension and combating fatigue symptoms using a programme based on
manual massage in terms of sensation and effect.

4.3 Mode of operation

EMS uses external electrical impulses that act through the skin to stimulate the
nerves supplying a specific muscle group.

The muscle reacts in different ways depending on the strength of current and
duration and frequency of the electrical impulse.

Muscles are made up of two different types of fibre:

- Red fibre is slower contracting and aerobic working.

- White fibre is faster acting and capable of anaerobic working.

The proportions of red and white fibres depend on the way the muscle is used.
Fibre can be converted from one type to the other, depending on the signals it
receives. This is known as the Trophic effect.

Different frequencies have different effects: Low (1-10 Hz) frequencies coupled
with long impulse times have a purifying and relaxing effect through individual
contractions, whereby the circulation in the treated muscle is simultaneously
improved and removal of metabolic end products is supported (lymphatic drainage).
The oxygen supply to the muscle is improved.

In contrast, medium (20-50 Hz) frequencies can put a high level of strain on the
muscle, thus promoting the muscular structure.

Very high frequencies (60-90 Hz) can be used to promote muscle definition and bulk.
The body maps at the back of this guide show pad positioning in order to stimulate
specific muscle groups.

4.4 Treatment time and treatment interval

Treatment by EMS can vary between 15–60 minutes stimulation twice a week to
treatment several times per day.

4.5 Choosing the right strength

The object of EMS treatment is to produce powerful muscle contractions.
The strength of the current should be increased to about three times the level
at which you can first feel the tingling, or to as high as you can stand without
causing pain. You will probably feel that electrical contraction is being more
powerful than a voluntary contraction, because the current also stimulates
your sensory nerves. The signals have a pain-relieving effect.
You may find the sensation uncomfortable to start with, so that you may
not get up to therapeutic strength at the start of treatment. The strength can
be increased during the course of the treatment, as you become accustomed
to the sensation. Voluntary muscular activity is more effective than
stimulation, and it may improve progress if you combine voluntary contraction
with stimulation.

The powerful muscle contractions caused by electrical stimulation give rise to
training aches, which usually disappear within a week.

After treatment tingling sensations may continue or your skin may feel numb,
this is normal.

5. STIMULATION PARAMETERS:

The effect of Electrical stimulation on the body depends on the following
current settings:

5.1 Pulse Waveform

This describes the time function of the excitation current which may be either
monophasic or biphasic. With monophasic pulse trains, the current flows in one
direction. With biphasic pulses, the excitation current alternates its direction

The Sports TENS uses only biphasic pulse trains, as they reduce the strain on the
muscle, leading to less muscle fatigue as well as safer application, and reduce
the risk of skin irritation under the electrode.

MONOPHASE PULSES

PULSE

INTENSITY

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5.2 Pulse frequency

Frequency indicates the number of individual pulses per second, and is indicated in
Hz (Hertz= pulses per second). It can be calculated by working out the inverse value
of the periodic time.

Different types of muscle fibres react preferentially to different frequencies:-

Slow-response fibres tend to react to lower pulse frequencies up to 15Hz, while
fast-response fibres only respond to frequencies over approx. 35Hz.

With pulses of approx.45~70Hz, there is permanent tension in the muscle (tetany)
combined with premature muscle fatigue. Higher pulse frequencies can therefore
preferably be used for elasticity and maximum strength training.

For TENS:

A frequency of 110 Hz is good at blocking pain signals.

A low frequency of 4 or 10 Hz allows for the release of endorphins, the body’s
natural morphine-like substances.

5.3.Pulse width

Pulse width is used to indicate the duration of an individual pulse in microseconds
(millionths of a second). Pulse width also determines the penetration depth of the
current. In general a greater muscle mass requires a greater pulse width. A higher
Pulse Width is more also more likely to activate pain nerves, so there is a fine
balance between maximum muscle stimulation and tolerable sensation.

EMS 50-400 depending on Frequency*
TENS 50 to 250 µS.

5.4 Pulse Intensity

Setting the degree of intensity is dependent on the subjective feeling of each
individual user and is determined by a number of parameters such as application
site, skin circulation, skin thickness as well as quality of electrode contact. The
actual setting should be effective but should never produce any unpleasant
sensation such as pain at the site of application.

In TENS programmes, while a slight tingling sensation indicates sufficient
stimulation energy, any setting which leads to pain must be avoided.

In EMS programmes, the intensity needs to be as high as possible for maximum
benefit – so set just below the pain threshold.

With prolonged application, you may need to increase intensity as nerves get
used to the stimulation and become less sensitive (known as accommodation).

5.5 WORK is the time in seconds that muscle is stimulated (not including Ramp

time). The Sports TENS 2 offers a range of work periods from 1-40 sec.

5.6 REST is the time in seconds at zero strength in between stimulation.

The Sports TENS 2 offers a range of rest periods from 1-40 sec. The EMS
programmes use an Active Rest –low frequency pulses help to clear metabolites
in between Work periods.

5.7 RAMP is the time in seconds taken to move up and down between zero and

the set stimulation strength .The Sports TENS 2 has a fixed ramp time of 1.5 up
and 0.75 down

PERIODIC TIME

PULSE WIDE

MONOPHASE PULSES

PULSE

INTENSITY

PULSE WIDE

PULSE WIDE

INTENSITY

WORK WORKREST

PERIODIC TIME

PULSE WIDE

MONOPHASE PULSES

INTENSITY

PULSE

INTENSITY

RA

MP

RA

MP

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TENS PROGRAMMES

5.8 Constant and Burst Modes

Constant mode is when the sensation is continuous as against Burst mode when the
sensation, is as its name implies, is one of on and off.

5.9 Modulation Modes

Modulation is when the Frequency (FM) or Intensity (IM) sweeps across a range of
settings. This enables the body to receive many different signals and can be very
beneficial and lessen any effect of accommodation.

WARNING

Consult your healthcare professional before altering these settings. Correct settings
depend on your muscle tone and exercise goals. Inappropriate settings could cause
discomfort, undesired muscle balance, or even muscle injury.

5.10 WARM, TRAIN & COOL Phases

Each EMS programme has three phases:

• A WARM up phase to prepare the muscle for work/training

• A TRAIN phase, which works the muscles

• A COOL down phase to minimise fatigue effects

6. CONTROLS AND DISPLAYS

MODE Programme

Preset/Manual

Pulse Width

Pulse Rate

Time setting

Menu
Parameter

Pause

Intensity Ch1 Intensity Ch 2

Warning

ON/OFF

Intensity Ch1

Intensity Ch 2

Programme
Select

Menu
Parameter
Confirm

Menu
Parameter
Adjust

Menu
Parameter

Select
MODE
Select

Cable Tidy