History
TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) was patented and first used in 1974 for pain relief. TENS is non-invasive; it sends electrical current through electrodes placed directly on the skin. However, the efficacy of TENS remains controversial as the data is inconclusive.
TENS treatment did pave the way for other types of electrical stimulation for the body, primarily sacral nerve stimulation. The first sacral nerve stimulation study was performed in 1988. By penetrating the skin, sacral nerve stimulation aims to give a direct and localized electrical current to specific nerves in order to elicit a favored response. Today it is one of the most common neuromodulation techniques.
Read more about this topic: Sacral Nerve Stimulation
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)