ireliev TENS +EMS Combination Unit

Bought this for chronic mostly muscular back pain. The main control unit is pretty small, about 2 x 3.5 inches. Comes with 3 AAA batteries. Hardly weighs anything even with battery installed. Display is good, but is not backlit. There are 2 electrodes plugs on top. Each electrode split into 2 pins that plug into the contact patches. Electrical current cycles between the 2 pins, causing the EMS or TENS effect. You can run one electrode at a time, but that electrode has to have contact patches plugged in in order to work. You get 4 packages of contact patches. The first two packages each have four 1.5 inch pads. Again, you'll need 2 patches per electrode. The patches have a sticky adhesive and comes stuck on a plastic sheet. You remove the pads, plug it in to the electrodes. When done you peel it off your skin, then stick it back onto the plastic sheet for storage. According to the label, each pad last up to 30 uses. The second set of two packages each contain 2 larger contact pads that measure about 3 x 5 inches. Usage is super simple. The manual is excellent. I looked at it briefly. There are 2 basic modes. TENS and EMS. There are 8 preprogrammed TENS modes, and 6 preprogrammed EMS modes. The manual does a good job differentiating the different modes. There's no way to program you own modes. Each electrode has intensity setting that goes from 0 to 25. Then the last function is the timer. You can set the duration of use, and the unit turns off afterwards. I've used this now for a couple of days. What's it like? First the TENS modes feels almost like tiny needle sticks that cause a tiny bit of surface muscle fascination The EMS modes feels similar, causing mostly muscle contraction, but not so much the pin prick sensation. Does it work? Frankly I've not used it enough to really say. Though this technology has been well researched. I do feel that my muscles are just a bit more relaxed and I do think I feel less pain. It's not an astounding effect like taking a good pain pill. But I think the effect will build over time. Overall I like the unit. It does what it's designed to do. It's easy to use, small, and relatively inexpensive. Apparent quality of the unit is good also.

Just ordered it today (Saturday, Aug 1st, 2015). It is scheduled to be here between the 4th and 7th. It looks like a great product -- we shall see. It is hard to find dual therapy units and I have high hopes for this one. I will continue to update this review and provide comprehensive feedback along the way ... [Added Monday, Aug 3rd, 2015] Wow! I was so surprised to see a text saying that my package was delivered already! I opened the box and everything looked excellent -- including the box! lol I would recommend this seller to anyone. So far, I am impressed and bumped the rating to 4 stars. I will be using it extensively over the next several days and re-post my findings. I bought this for assistance with my back -- severely injured in the military (80% disability) and the muscles never healed correctly. Consequently, I have had constant issues with my back going out on me and ongoing pain. I was excited to find a unit that does both EMS and TENS. I'll post back again very soon... [Aug 6, 2015] After three days of extensive use I have to give this product 5 stars! The product is hight quality with lots of EMS/TENS options to choose from; intuitive in the layout -- takes just a little time time get used to which button to push to get what you want; the butterfly pads are very high quality and stick like crazy; the cords are long enough to reach everywhere from your waist; AND (one thing I was wondering about myself before I bought it) it is powerful enough that you do not have to "crank it all the way up" to feel it. I have seen others say that you need to have a 9 volt battery but this unit works great on the three supplied AAA batteries: Even on the least sensitive area of my body (spine, just below the waist) I stopped at 11 (out of 25). One word of advice: Don't keep turning it up right away -- sometimes the pattern you have chosen will get more intense as it progresses and you may find yourself grabbing for the unit in a hurry to turn it down! lol Overall, my experience has been 5 star - both with the unit itself as well as with the seller. I can honestly highly recommend both.

Excellent product for the money. Wish it was a bit stronger though. Even at top level 25 it’s not strong enough for some locations. The pads will not last too long. You can set them a bit to extra life out of them.

this thing has saved my life. I wouldn't be able to walk without it. I have horrible back pain due to a failed back surgery and a possible herniated disc and it's extremely painful for me to walk or even stand. Using this on my back in the tens mode I can actually stand and even walk a little bit! It's amazing. I bought two of them and I use the other one on my abs in the other mode to try and keep fit since I can't do ab workouts because of my back condition. I'm not sure if it actually does any noticeable difference so time will tell. But at least I can feel like it is and the Tens pain relief is actually something legitimate! This thing is easy to use and pretty well made and the batteries last a long time! I had no idea they could make the batteries last that long. It's pretty high quality. the electrodes last a pretty long time but only if you treat them very delicately and carefully not to get them dirty Or tear them. but if you use it a lot you will have to replace the electrodes every now and then and they are kind of expensive. My best advice is put them on you and purchase a bandage or two at Rite Aid and bandage around yourself firmly. That way the electrodes are kept firmly pressed against you and this protects them from coming apart by accident and ruining them if the cord snags on something for example and the added pressure the bandage ads against you makes the electrodes more effective and produces a stronger electric pulse. This unit is able to provide a pretty good amount of electric pulse It took a couple days before I could regularly use it on the maximum level. Obviously I wish they could increase it like anything in life but so far it's acceptable and we'll see where it is in time. if you have major pain keeping you from functioning this might be the best thing you ever bought. Honestly nothing else works the same. Ice relieves the pain somewhat but the pain returns after 20 minutes. This is the only thing that consistently that consistently relieves 50 to 80% of the pain as long as you are running it which could be for hours and hours.

I purchased this months ago for a back pain that recurred after several months of being pain free. I was advised by my physician and therapist to get one of these since I was spending a lot for therapy sessions over the years since my first injury. I can do my rehabilitation exercises at home after I use this with hot packs (I just don't have an ultrasound machine) daily in between therapy sessions. I ordered this with a package that had the large electrodes. It is indeed small and lightweight as advertised but it's not fancy looking. For me, what's important is the relief it gave me. I couldn't tolerate sedating medication during the daytime so this augmented my recovery faster and helped in my mobility. I also followed manufacturers instructions which was thoroughly prepared in their manual. My favorite setting for pain relief is P4! It's easy to use, not messy and it's very portable. I just noticed that after a month, with twice a day of use, the electrodes seem dry so a little gel helps. It has a safety feature that prevents sudden strong surges so the user has to gradually increase the intensity of the current and the buttons help there. It's a bit stiff so I can tell how many times I've pressed it. The electrode pads are another to rave about, they're durable, easy to stick on skin, they're neat, the gel doesn't leave a residue and they're easy to keep, just follow manufacturers storage directions, which is easy to follow. It's a lot better to put on without taping it. I was so happy with this that I ordered more electrodes, gel, alcohol wipes and lotion! Soon, my son used this for his legs after his track training. Then my husband used it too for hip pain.... We recover faster from injuries with this and don't depend on strong medications for pain relief any more. It's a family asset already. I mentioned that I use this with hot packs because it's my therapy prescription but manufacturer cautioned using such as it dries out the gel. However, I use hot water bags at home wrapped in towels over the electrodes and it works magic! I am scared of using the electric hot packs as it might affect the electrical current and could dry out the gel more since it warms the air in pockets over areas it's not completely covering. I'd rather sacrifice the longevity of the electrode pads (it still lasts more than a month despite the abuse) with the gels than not recover. Customer service was also great because I called them several times to clarify the model and package contents. Then they helped me with a missing package. Btw, I'm just a user, not a paid reviewer, just helping out those searching for a great instrument and to thank the great minds who came up with this.

The product offers relief when it works. Unfortunately for me, it malfunctioned within a week of use (display went dim and would shut off within 10 seconds). Tried brand new batteries to no avail. I contacted the manufacturer within 2 weeks of problem and was offered to replace it if I returned the product at my expense. I asked if they could just send a new controller to troubleshoot but was denied. Surprised that they would not cover the return shipping, especially given the short period of time I had it. In summary, product failed within a week, was offered replacement at my expense for shipping. I do not recommend. UPDATE 10/31/18: To my surprise, despite what I was told on the phone, the seller did send me a new controller at no expense along with several pairs of fresh batteries and a note saying they want to make sure I'm satisfied. I don't expect to always get a perfect product but when a product malfunctions within a couple of weeks of purchase, I do expect a humble response to address it (I should not have to pay anything to get resolution). Given the timing of when I received the surprise package, they did this on their own merit not in response to my initial negative review. My confidence is restored in the seller as they went above and beyond and most of all the new controller seems to have solved my issues. I have upgraded my rating to 4 for sending me more than I requested and now with the new controller working, I have a working product. In summary, as I stated earlier the product does work when its working. I had a bad controller but the seller made it right to my satisfaction. I can now recommend this product knowing the Mfr stands behind it.

If I was reviewing the iReliev TENS machine itself I would give it a five. However, the pads that come with it are absolutely awful. No wonder why they send a lot because they don't stay stuck to your skin, I would recommend buying another brand of pads with this machine.

I love this! I was suffering for many weeks with a shoulder/upper back injury. The pain was unbearable and though I hate taking any drugs, I was downing ibuprofen like candy for weeks. The day I started using this unit, I was off the pain meds. I had it attached to me all day every day at first, rarely going more than 20 minutes without turning it on. I had electric going through my muscles so often that they ended up tender to the touch after a few days! Probably not the proper way to use it, but it was better than the constant debilitating pain. After about 2 or 3 weeks I noticed I was using it less and less, as my injury was healing. It saved my kidneys from all those drugs! Another positive is that this little machine packs some SERIOUS power, and as much as I used it, I never had to change the batteries. I don't know how they accomplished that. I fully expected to go through tons of batteries, and it still would have been worth it. But I didn't need to. It's been put away now for the past couple of weeks since I'm now pain free, til the next time I need it. I should also add that this is the second time I've had this shoulder issue. The first time it lasted 6 months, and that included chiropractic care. I apparently have a weak spot there and reinjured it a year later. This time the pain was worse, but I never went to a chiropractor this time around, just used this unit instead. This time I healed in less than 3 months. I really do believe this TENS unit sped up the healing process. Plus I made a serious effort to rest it as much as possible. This TENS unit was my new "best friend" for awhile and I highly recommend it.