This Report gives general material and opinions for information only and is not to be considered an alternative to professional medical advice. Readers should consult their family doctors or other qualified medical advisers on any matter relating to their health and wellbeing.

Have you ever wondered why doctors are so awful at dealing with pain?

Lying in bed, thrashing around in pain, you might be excused for thinking that the majority of doctors and nurses are sadists who get a kick out of seeing patients suffer.

But although they may be naive and simple minded most doctors aren't sadists. And most nurses are quite kindly.

There are three main reasons for the medical profession's apparent indifference towards patients suffering from pain.

First, medical students are taught that their most important task is to cure. Pain is merely an inconvenient symptom. Many of the textbooks used by students don't even mention pain.

Second, it's very easy to be stoical when you are standing at the end of a patient's bed in a crisp white coat. Everyone – including doctors – tends to forget just how awful pain is about fifteen minutes after the pain has stopped. (If we didn't forget pain no woman would ever have a second child.)

Third, and possibly most important of all, the medical profession is totally owned and controlled by the pharmaceutical industry. And since the pharmaceutical industry can only make money if doctors deal with every symptom by prescribing pills doctors obediently reach for their prescription pads when they are faced with a patient in pain.

They do this despite the fact that there is ample evidence available now to show that drugs – even the most powerful ones – are often not the most effective or safe way to deal with pain.

If you think I am being cynical about drug companies and my own former profession let me tell you about TENS machines – simple, relatively cheap devices which use electricity to make pain disappear.

If you bang your elbow what's the first thing you usually do?

You rub it, right?

Rubbing the sore area reduces the amount of pain you feel – and the length of time for which the pain lasts – because the rubbing increases the number of messages travelling towards your spinal cord and ultimately your brain.

The pain messages just can't get through – they get lost in a traffic jam of messages produced by all the rubbing!

Once they had worked out how rubbing a sore spot can relieve pain scientists set about looking for a way to use this method of pain obliteration automatically. They came up with the idea of using electricity to produce the necessary stimulus. It was discovered that all nerves within an inch or two of the surface of the skin can be stimulated by electrodes which are simply stuck on to the skin. And so researchers started giving patients pocket-sized battery-operated stimulators which sent out a continuous series of electrical pulses – and which blocked pain!

Moreover, it was found that Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (it quickly became known as TENS for obvious reasons) didn't just stimulate the passage of sensory impulses designed to inhibit the passage of pain impulses; it also stimulated the body to start producing its own pain-relieving hormones, the endorphins.

During the last decade an impressive number of projects have been undertaken and have shown without doubt that TENS is extremely effective in relieving pain.

In a study conducted with patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis it was found that the TENS equipment produced pain relief in up to 95 per cent of patients.

In other experiments it was found that TENS even managed to produce relief in patients who had received no relief from any other pain-relieving techniques. TENS can provide relief for 65 to 80 per cent of all pain patients in the short term, and long-term relief for between 30 and 50 per cent of patients.

It has been shown that the TENS machine is good for relieving low back pain, phantom limb pain, arthritis of all kinds, cancer pain and the pain that sometimes develops after herpes.

A large study done in Sweden has shown that TENS is the only pain killer required by 70 per cent of women in labour. It works well for patients recovering from surgery too.

There are extremely few side effects or problems caused by TENS and the cost of running the machines is low.

With this sort of success available from a small portable machine that can be bought quite cheaply and used at home without very much training, you'd imagine that doctors all around the world would be recommending TENS to all their patients.

But they aren't.

Most doctors have never even heard of TENS machines for the simple but vital reason that most doctors get most of their education from the drug companies. And the drug companies are not very keen on TENS machines since these little devices could virtually destroy their annual billion dollar sales of pain killers. (I have heard of at least one company selling TENS machines which was bought up by a drug company – so that they could make sure it didn't provide too much competition for their pill manufacturing plants. A TENS machine is a one-off purchase and is likely to last some time. Pills have to be bought regularly producing a steady income stream for cash hungry drug companies.)

There are a few restrictions. TENS machines shouldn't be used by pregnant women, or by people who have a heart pacemaker, or over implanted metal parts. You shouldn't use one on wet skin or in damp surroundings, if you suffer from epilepsy or close to oxygen or inflammable fluids. You shouldn't try to use one if you are driving at the time and you shouldn't use it on or around your eyes. And you shouldn't use it on a child under the age of eight years. Other than that I really don't know of any dangers, restrictions, side effects or problems associated with them.

I've been writing (with enthusiasm) about TENS machines for the best part of two decades. And during that time I must have received thousands of letters from readers wanting to know where they could buy one of these devices.

On the one occasion when I was rash enough to recommend a specific product the company concerned (with whom I had absolutely no connection) seemed to find itself unable to cope with the demand. I had a mass of letters from unhappy readers who had received no reply from the company's overwhelmed sales department. And so, on the basis of that unhappy experience, I swore that I wouldn't recommend any more TENS machine manufacturers.

I am, however, delighted to say that I have at last discovered a TENS machine which I am happy to recommend. And to avoid any problems with distribution I am making the device available directly through Publishing House.

The 'PAIN GONE' TENS Pen is the simplest and easiest to operate TENS machine I have yet come across. And it has one huge advantage over other TENS machines: because it is shaped like a rather thick pen it is immensely portable. You can carry it in your pocket or handbag so that you have it with you at all times. I have one and I carry mine with me when I travel. It's actually easier than carrying a bottle of aspirin tablets.

I received my first TENS Pen a couple of months ago. I couldn't test it for a while because (I'm pleased to say) I didn't have a pain to get rid of. And then I bought some roller blades!

The first time I went out on my roller blades I fell over and hurt my back and my hand quite badly. (I was wearing knee, wrist and elbow protectors but managed to hurt bits of my body which were unprotected). I tried out my TENS Pen. And I was astonished at just how effective it was.

I have never sold any product (apart from my own books) before. But this is a product for which I'm prepared to lose my commercial virginity. I like this product so much that I'm prepared to recommend it and sell it.

Using it is remarkably simple. You just hold the Pen in your hand, place it on the point of pain and press a button. Each time you click the Pen a pulse is sent out which helps your body deal with your pain in a completely natural way. The Pen even works through light clothing.

Of course, the TENS Pen probably won't work for everyone – I don't know of anything which works for everyone – but I have seen a fistful of letters from people who have bought the Pen and who were overjoyed with its effectiveness.

There are two things worth remembering about TENS. First, it seems to work best with persistent and fairly stable pains: headaches, stiff necks, backaches, joint pains and period pains, for example, rather than pains that are sudden, acute or shooting. (Naturally, you should always get medical advice before treating yourself. This is particularly important if your pain is sudden or acute.) And second, even though TENS doesn't always cut out pain completely it very often relieves it enough to enable a disabled or bedbound patient to become an active member of the community again. A TENS device really can make a difference.

TENS devices are safe, effective and economical, but their ultimate advantage is that they work not by attacking the body but by stimulating the body's own pain-suppressing mechanisms. A TENS device isn't a cure. A TENS device is simply a painkiller and before you try dealing with pain you must always know what you are treating, and that means obtaining an accurate diagnosis from a doctor and asking him if he thinks a TENS machine might help you. However for many patients a pain reliever that works is not only a pretty good start – it's a pretty good end in itself.

The TENS Pen is made in Denmark and has been selling there successfully for four years. It's fairly new in the UK and they usually sell here for over £60. But we have managed to negotiate a special price for our customers and you can buy one direct from us for only £49.95 – much less than the cost of continual repeat prescriptions or long term over-the-counter remedies (obviously you should always check with your doctor before you stop taking any prescribed or long term medication). The TENS Pen should last for at least two years and is fully backed by a manufacturer's guarantee. It doesn't need any batteries.

I'm thrilled and excited to be offering the TENS Pen to you because it fits into my 'bodypower' philosophy of health care quite perfectly. I'd like to see every home in Britain with one of these devices. The biggest pain sufferers left in Britain would be the drug companies which make pain killers! And I think it's about time they did some hurting.

If you want your own TENS Pen all you have to do is contact Publishing House. Either telephone 01271 328892 with your credit card details. or send a cheque for £49.95 to Publishing House, Trinity Place, Barnstaple, Devon EX32 9HJ, England.

Once you've got a TENS Pen I don't think you'll want to be without it. Mine travels with me everywhere I go.

With best wishes.

Sincerely,

Vernon Coleman

P.S. If the TENS Pen doesn't help you, simply return it within 14 days (in the same condition as it was when you bought it please) and we'll refund your money. Our guarantee means that you have absolutely nothing to lose but your pain!