Review: Electronic Pulse Massager (TANS Muscle Stimulator) by Santamedical

It is important that I start this post mentioning that I do not use TANS machines on my clients. I have not been professionally trained to use these devices on people so they are never included in my treatment.

I have discovered that they are an excellent tool for self-care and self-maintenance as a massage therapist or when I have aches from sports or exercise. 

I purchased the SantaMedical Pulse Massager while I was working at a ski resort in Vermont.  

It was Christmas week, and I quickly came to realize that in a ski resort that meant working on 7 people per day for 2 weeks straight before I got to take a break myself.

This is something I would NEVER allow myself to do to my body again, but there I was, on day 5 of Christmas week, with my forearms in pain (and yes, I have excellent body mechanics) and aware that I had over a week left of the holiday week.

I started to look for any tools that would help me recover quickly so that I could minimize damage to my own body.  

The SantaMedical TENS Stimulator Pulse Massager is one of those tools that was very effective in healing my body at the end of the day.

Contraindications

In this article, I will be discussing how I have used this TENS stimulator for self-healing after a day of giving too many massages.

And while I have never recommended a TENS machine to any of my clients, it is simply because it has not crossed my mind.  

TENS units are considered safe for healthy people as long as they are used properly and the pads are placed in the right locations.

In preparation for this review article, I discovered more information about contraindications from this article, which states: 

“Pregnancy, epilepsy, and pacemaker are all contraindications for TENS.  Additionally, contraindications exist to the placement of the electrode pads in certain areas.  Some of these placements include: over the eyes, trans-cerebrally, the front of the neck, simultaneously positioned anterior and posterior chest electrodes, internally, over broken skin or lesions, over tumors, directly over the spine, regions of severe paresthesia where the user might not recognize skin irritation.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537188/

My 20-Year History of Getting to Know TENS Machines

The first time I heard about Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) machines were actually in the ’90s when I was a rep for a company called Nikken, who made cutting edge health products for self-care and self-wellness. 

This was long before I was a massage therapist and the idea of using electronic stimulation to help muscles feel better sounded a bit weird to me. 

When I got to try it out, I was not impressed (it actually stuck a lot in an uncomfortable way) so I never made it one of the products I talked about with my clients until I was telling a friend about it and she got very excited and asked if I had one.  

The price of a TENS unit was prohibitive to me at the time, so I did not own one (Nikken is/was an MLM so we had to buy all of our display inventory), but I never forgot how excited she got at the prospect of trying one.

Then, a decade later, I was at a natural health fair and I saw someone selling a TENS machine at one of the booths. I got to try it out on my achy shoulders, which didn’t feel so great from carrying a bunch of literature in a backpack from all of the booths I had visited at the expo.  

After 5 minutes with the stimulators on my upper trapezius, I felt so much better. But the price was still way higher than I wanted to spend on something I would only use once in a while (or so I thought).

I suppose if I had had chronic muscular pain the price might have been worth it, but it didn’t seem reasonable to me at the time.

Then I was in an oxygen bar in Las Vegas and I saw that they were selling them there, too.  When someone goes to an oxygen bar in Vegas, they are at the end of their adventure at the strip so a TENS machine would be very complimentary for tired oxygen bar visitors who probably have achy feet or legs from walking so much.  

But what impressed me from seeing it there was that this technology had gone mainstream.

Does It Work To Soothe Achy Muscles

Heck yeah!  This technology wouldn’t have been around for so long if it didn’t work.  

While I purchased this inexpensive unit from Amazon in a moment of desperation duri9ng a grueling week of back to back massage sessions, my mother had told me on multiple occasions that she had had a few physical therapy sessions and that they had used an electronic pulse massager on her and that it really did make that area feel better.

So that really was a great endorsement of the technology.

And when I got my SantaMedical TENS machine, I also found that it soothed my achy forearms (I was especially uncomfortable in brachioradialis) and was convinced of this technology myself.

(Ha! It only took 20 years!)

Don’t Make The Same Mistake I Did: BUY ELECTRODE GEL

Even though I love this machine, I have to start with something negative because it was a bit of a letdown when I received the unit.

You MUST buy Electrode Gel to apply the electrode pads to the body so that the electrical pulses coming from the machine are effective.

I did not know about electrode gel, and I had seen other models with pads that did not require this gel,  so my achy forearms had to wait a few more days for the gel to arrive before I could use the unit.

If the pads are not properly attached, the pulse feels more like you are being zapped by a live wire or a static electricity shock – very unpleasant – so be sure to add the gel to your cart for a few dollars more.

Why I Love This TENS Electronic Pulse Machine from SantaMedical

Ok, let’s get into the good stuff.

I was honestly feeling rather dubious about ordering a TENS machine that was under $30, after years of seeing them in the $100-$300 range.

I will be reviewing another one in the future that my mom owns, and also works well but cost way more than $100.

But for twenty-five bucks, it was worth trying out. 

When it first arrived I was surprised at how many options I had on the control pad. 

I could change the type of electric pulse “massage” – the pattern in which the electrical pulse was coming out of the pads.  

There was a right and left plug that connected by wire to two pads, allowing for a total of four pads to be used at one time.  

So theoretically you could have one set on the tops of your shoulders and another set on your lower back and that not only would work out fine with this equipment, but you could adjust the power settings for the right plug and the left plug.

Alternatively, two people could use it simultaneously, and control their own power settings separately, but I have never done that.

You can also simply press a button marked “shoulders” or “sole” (or three other specific buttons) that have differently preset to them.

Finally, you can also change the speed.

And the fact that it came with 4 pads (which is more than my mom’s +$100 TENS unit came with before she upgraded for more money) is a decent set to get yourself started. I talk more about the pads later.

A typical treatment for me, whether it is my forearms or somewhere else on my body, is 2 electrode pads (not all 4) for 10 minutes at a pulse level of 2 (it goes all the way up to 10, which is crazy) and I use the “knead” or “beat” massage style.

That usually does the trick.

What Could Be Improved on the SantaMedical TENS Electronic Pulse Massager?

As I just mentioned, I can’t imagine anyone using this unit at a level 10 strength. I can’t get above a level 3 before wanting to turn it down.

So I wish that they had made this unit less powerful so that there were gradations of low power. The jump from 2-3 is palpable, so it would be nice if I could have a less dramatic adjustment between the numbers.

It is nice that they made an adjustment wheel for this setting, though. It allows for some additional control.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, it was a rude awakening to discover that I needed gel for the electrode pads when I had the TENS unit in hand. 

The gel should have been included in the package, even if it was just a small sample tube.

I have read that some people use the machine without the gel, but I found that to be very uncomfortable because the connection of the sticky pads to my body was not good and it created the feel of an electrical shock rather than a soothing pulse.

Oh, and the stickiness on the pads will eventually wear out, so you will probably have to replace them with new TENS Unit Pads if you use this electronic pulse massager frequently.  

I still have my first set of electro pads because I only use 2 at a time and I haven’t needed to use the TENS machine that often lately since I only worked one season I that ski resort.

How I Set Up And Break Down This TENS Unit

I keep the unit in its original box, so when I am ready to use it, I remove the TENS machine and one wire that connects the TENS machine to the pads and then connects two pads to that wire.

I use rubbing alcohol swabs to clean the area of my body I plan to place the pads.

I apply electrode gel to those areas after they are cleaned with the rubbing alcohol.

I press the pads into the areas where the electrode gel is and press firmly, creating a strong connection (a weak connection to the skin will NOT feel good).

I turn the power wheel of the TENS machine to the setting I want. This will automatically turn on the machine. 

Then I adjust the other settings and relax for 10 minutes.

When I am done, I use a new alcohol swab to clean the pad and the area on my body that still has gel on it.

Then I put everything back in the box (and put the pads on the plastic it was attached to when I first got the unit) and then put it all away for next time.

Conclusion

The SantaMedical TENS Machine Electronic Pulse Massager is a big yes if you are a healthy person with occasional aches and pains from sports or minor injury.

It is a lot less expensive than other machines but of equal quality to many of the more expensive units.

Just don’t forget to get a few more inexpensive items to make sure you can use the massager when it arrives. 

Here are the items mentioned in this article with links to Amazon.

SantaMedical Electronic Pulse Massager TENS Machine $24.89

Electrode Gel $3.34

TENS unit pads (20) $9.99

Rubbing Alcohol Swabs (100) $6.99

The prices are as-of-this-writing, so they could change, but I am displaying them to show that for under $40 a person could be all set up with a device that could vastly improve quality of life or bring comfort to the body when needed between regular sessions with their massage therapist.