I am so sorry to hear about your pain! The Tens unit will help, especially if it has a frequency scan function. Be aware that you will acclimate to the therapy after a few minutes, and turning it up again, will get better results. I used to design these, and this is the step most people are not told about.
Arnica tincture is good for pain, and will help. The best herbal for accelerating healing is Comfrey. It heals bruises overnight, and will penetrate a foot deep. The Greeks named it Kint Bone, because they used it for healing broken bones. I did a post for Natural Medicine on how to make your own (because it is expensive) and you could do this and just use the gravity extraction, and ignore the steam extraction, to keep it simple:
https://steemit.com/naturalmedicine/@smithlabs/collection-of-the-how-too-posts-on-comfrey-tincture-making-for-the-naturalmedicine-story?sort=votes
The use of comfrey tincture is simple, get a roller bottle, and apply it anywhere you hurt, as often as you like. Moisten a cotton pad with it, cover the back of the pad to keep it moist, and tape it over where you hurt overnight.
I have some of the same problems you have, and there are a couple of things I would recommend, for the digestion. Take ginger capsules, they are a natural remedy for upset stomach that works very well. for GI (intestine) spasms, take slippery elm. It coats the GI tract and protects it from further damage; giving valuable relief! Naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut, Kombucha, Fermented Pickles, and yogurt will all help your GI tract run better.
For an anti inflammatory (three back surgeries) I use tumeric, combined with boswella, and some black pepper to act as a catalyst. I mix 65%, 30%, and 5% respectively. Here is a post on that:
https://steemit.com/herbal/@smithlabs/the-perfect-herbal-mix-to-fight-pain?sort=votes
I get my herbs from www.our4corners.net and I have no affiliations with them, except as a customer; but any supplier would be fine! The Boswellia is actually frankincense tears, ground to powder in a coffee grinder.
I have had some success on nerve damage repair with The herbal Stinging Nettle. I dispense this in capsules, however it makes an excellent tea too, and is good for the lungs also. I give her 4000 mg twice a day, but you could safely double that amount....
Be Blessed, and pain free! :)
Wow! I really appreciate so many great suggestions! I especially love the fact that everything here is natural. The comfrey for my ankle and the slippery elm for my stomach...are the ones that I am very eager to start with. I will check your blog posts tomorrow...thank you so much for providing them. I haven't had very much luck with topical nerve pain solutions in the past...but sure do love my teas! <3
Comfrey is a lot stronger than most other herbals! Since it penetrates so deeply, it is unlike other topical treatments. I had a car wreak, that required shoulder surgery, He told me I would need a replacement soon. I was having trouble with the shoulder joint throbbing so sleep was impossible. I put a wet pad on overnight, and woke up sleeping on that shoulder for the first time in three years.
He has told me since, that he did a better job than he thought, and I will not need a new shoulder after all.
I didn't tell him, ROFLOL!I apologize for the post length on the comfrey, but making the tincture with comfrey is the most difficult herbal process I do here at home. If it didn't work so well, I would stop making it!
Be sure to turn the TENS therapy up a second time after you start using it each time. You will get a lot more good from it if you do. It releases endogenous opiates, AKA internal pain meds; (endorphins and enkephalins) which work together to supply pain relief for about 24 hours. The higher the intensity, and the greater the time, the more endogenous opiates are released by the body.
Remember the tumeric! It is my daily pain reliever, and is very good for the body, long term.
Be Blessed, and text me any time I can help!
:)This week has been a very busy and stressful one for me...I wanted to get back to you on this topic sooner. I am still very excited to see the results of the comfrey tincture for my ankle pain...hopefully dried will work? The stuff at the health food store...she said it's very old and never sells. I want to get this started soon...but might have to buy some online.
As for the tens unit...I wish that I had known about your expertise sooner! I struggled for almost two weeks...not knowing who to ask for advice...and figuring out what exactly to look for when buying a tens unit. Ultimately...it seems that I might have picked one that is more 'user friendly' than the one you would probably suggest. I saw the ones with dials and complicated settings for sale and did not understand them.
Mine does not have the frequency scan feature and also has some silly buttons that basically all do the same thing. Although I still remain ever so grateful to have it...and will strive to make the most out of it...I am not completely sure now it's up to the task of serious long term use. Turning it up a second time isn't possible because the higher intensity levels are too painful. On the easy@home model...do you know if the intensity settings could be in any way related to the frequency level? Or perhaps the individual programs serve this task.
Honestly...I would much rather be educated on the frequency pulse rate...appropriate number of hertz...and the width settings versus using a product where these settings aren't adaptable. I would deeply appreciate any tips on which of the more advanced tens units is best...for the next time around!
If the comfrey is still liquid, it is okay. If the bottle is a little low, add some everclear to replace the evaporation. I am told in the reference books that comfrey tincture will last for a decade, with no loss of strength. Mine is used too quickly for that. The darker brown the tincture the better, because it is stronger, but even pale tincture will work well. It will turn your skin brown, but it washes off.
TENS...there is a LOT of information there! But lets start at the beginning. The acclimation takes 5 minutes or so (depending on the type of stimulation); BEFORE you turn up the second time. The stimulation uses up some of the neurotransmitter compound your body uses to send a pain signal. This compound is what carries the pain signal from nerve cell to nerve cell, to jump the gap from axiom to dendrite. Think of it as pain juice, When repeated signals are transferred, this juice gets used up locally, and the pain signals will no longer be carried. So what hurt as too high at first, is not as uncomfortable when this neurotransmitter (pain juice) is depleted. Then you can turn it up as high as you can take (higher is directly equal to pain relief) and let it run.
The scan frequencies are used to release endogenuos opiates (endorphines .and enkephalin) which are what the body uses to run away from danger, even when hurt. They work like Opiates (like Morphine), except without the needle. Every person releases these compounds at a different frequency, so the frequency scan covers everyone best.
Higher frequency pulses are more comfortable (80 to 120 Hz), But lower frequency pulses (1 to 15 Hz) release longer lasting relief. That said, a fixed frequency pulse will release some too, it just needs to run longer. The only limit to TENS is tolerance, too much and the muscles get sore.
However, the comfrey tincture should heal that soreness in a short while.
Let me know any time I can help you!
:)