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By Dr. Michael Cooney

This is one of the most common questions we are asked by patients living with chronic pain. I’d like to share my response, which generally begins with something like, “It is like driving on a one-lane, back-woods road compared to a newly- paved, super highway with 16 lanes…”

But the question is 100 percent valid and requires a detailed explanation. First let’s compare the two devices:

Calmare® Pain Therapy’s MC5-A Technology

This technology creates a low energy electrical impulse which travels through the patient’s nerves delivering a “no-pain” signal to the brain. This process “tricks the brain” that the area of pain is normal and eventually results in prolonged pain relief. Calmare uses primarily “C Fibers” to transmit these random ‘no pain’ signals to calm the brain. It operates at 40 to 50 hz. and 16 different algorithms deliver five duel-channel signals to restart the brain and ultimately disrupt the chronic pain loop.

There is never a repeated cycle during a treatment, so there can be no accommodation by the brain (as with drugs or a self-administered, hand-held TENS unit). Here’s a very important point ─ pain relief using Calmare technology is of a significantly longer duration (often months, years or more) as opposed to using a TENS unit, where the pain returns soon after discontinuation of the unit.

Finally, Calmare Therapy is only administered by a medical professional who has years of clinical expertise delivering customized pain therapy.

TENS unit

This small, hand-held machine is self-administered so the placement of the pads is determined not by a medical professional, but at the best judgment of the patient or loved one self-administering the treatment at home. This machine stimulates A-beta sensory nerves thereby blocking transmission at the spinal cord. The machine operates at 80-100 hz. It is a single signal using a dual channel. Therefore, pain relief is of short duration. Treatment is performed on the pain site for the purpose of relaxation, pain relief, exercise or pumping fluid through the area. Most importantly, the machine has been designed with the goal of temporarily suspending pain.

RSD and CRPS Patients

The main challenge in treating RSD/CPRS is the complicated change in the nervous system which can be traced to changes in the receptors in the brain. As a result, therapy to resolve this kind of pain must reach the brain. The use of electricity for the management of pain is not unique to Calmare. In fact, many RSD/CRPS sufferers have probably already tried traditional TENS therapy.

But let me be clear ─ Calmare Therapy does not function like a TENS unit. Injury or other noxious stimulus in the body creates pain chemicals. These chemicals, in turn, are converted into electrical impulses by your nerves which are transmitted to the brain and INTERPRETED by the brain. When physicians use Calmare Therapy, they “control” the electrical impulses that the brain is receiving. By manipulating the input into the brain, they “convince” the brain that the area of the body where pain was present is now normal. We know that the brain can be “taught.” In medicine, we refer to those changes as neuroplasticity and there are many resources of interesting reading on that topic.

I certainly admit that this information is a lot to take in for non-medical readers. Nonetheless, I hope this helps in recognizing the key differences between the two devices. If you have more questions about anything related to Calmare Pain Therapy Treatment, please feel free to contact me. I talk with people every day about this revolutionary chronic pain solution and love every minute of it!