Do you know what transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation is? I’m going to guess that even if you don’t know the whole phrase, you’ve heard of a TENS device or unit. It’s where you stick little pads to your skin, connect a device or some wires to them, and then you can receive electrical impulses through it to your skin.
I never thought about using transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for menstrual cramp relief. But the MiraPro is a device designed specifically for that. Ending period pain through electrical stimulation. And while this is marketed toward ending pain associated with menstruation or endometriosis, it is a TENS unit and it can be used on other sore muscle spots. Calves, thighs, back, etc. Just not the throat. It mentions that repeatedly in the instructions to not place it on the throat, which I wouldn’t have considered prior to reading that and now I can’t help but wonder why someone would put it on their throat and what is the danger with that?
To get a full test of it’s intended purpose, I obviously had to wait until my Aunt Flo came to visit. And she showed up full of rage and making her presence known, so I decided at least I could zap her angry ways. Or something like that… the short version is, I had cramps so I could test this product.
It’s incredibly weird to have this placed on your abdomen. There are different settings and I didn’t know which setting I was on at each moment, but some of them are quite powerful. When you are pregnant you can see your stomach pulsing and moving as the baby inside moves. This is kind of like that, except you don’t have a baby and your relatively flat stomach starts to just pulse around in weird random patterns.
It was at this point, I figured the real way this device operates is just by distracting you from the physical pain. You can’t think about or notice the pain when you have a pulsing stomach and random patterns of stimulation on your gut. And after about 10 minutes or that, I was done… I didn’t want to use it anymore because it was just so strange. But after I while, I noticed that I wasn’t experiencing cramps anymore either. So whether it stopped the pain or just re-routed my brain signals, I do not know. But my pain chilled out, so that’s a win.
As I mentioned, it can be used for muscle soreness in other spots. (Like you might get from athletic endeavors.) But there are also reviews online of people using it for dealing with IBS symptoms as well. So it’s multi-faceted!
The pads seem plenty sticky and are still sticky after several uses. Eventually, they will wear out though and new pads would have to be purchased. The sticky pads retail for about $30. That could add up quite quickly, especially if you’re not being careful with the pads and trying to keep them from getting too sticky. The website says the sticky pads pack should last about 3 months, but I think you could probably stretch it out if you’re careful.
I also appreciate that the actual MiraPro controller device sticks right on to the pads. I have tried TENS units with long cords and lots of little pads, but generally find those to be more annoying. True, they may allow for some more precise placement, but I’ve always tried getting TENS units on my upper back (as that is where I am chronically knotted up) and the convenience of this one being one thing to stick on is nice. Of course, it’s still hard to reach the controls yourself on your upper back, but I’m a big kid now and I try to do it all myself. 😉
Speaking of prices… the actual device. What does it cost? Well, that retails for about $100-120 USD. I’ve seen different prices. (At the moment of this posting, it is $108. Other times, it has been higher.) But this promo link should get you 20% off whatever the price is at the moment.
You can also check out the MiraPro dealspotr page to look for any other deals. Thanks to dealspotr for facilitating this test and review.
Jill Will Run 