We in Washington were recently informed that a multi-clinic Pain Management practice was closed after a string of over a dozen deaths. This shed light not only on the clinic itself and its doctor, but also more generally on the growing population of Washingtonians who suffer chronic, often debilitating pain, for which they seek treatment. Often that treatment comes in the form of long-term use of opioid medications, which often have the unfortunate effect of causing patients to become addicted to the medication.

For years, doctors have prescribed transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) devices to attempt to alleviate pain through stimulating nerves. Recently, a company has received FDA approval for the next generation in TENS units, which promises to increase the effectiveness of the TENS device by pairing it with the user’s smartphone to allow for the electrical doses to be customized specifically for the user.

We as a society are facing an opioid epidemic, for which we need to continue to search for solutions. Although this new iteration of TENS technology won’t solve everything, hopefully it is another step in the right direction.

You can read an article about this new device here:

[Can a ‘smart’ pain management system be alternative to opioids for chronic pain?](http://medcitynews.com/2016/11/chronic-pain-alternative-opioids/?rf=1)