Decubitus Ulcers

In any case, decubitus ulcers are wounds that appear on the skin on certain areas of the body when the person spends long periods of time in bed without the ability to move. This wound can develop into an ulcer. In the worst cases, the wound can spread and affect muscles and bones.

According to the National Pressure Advisory Panel, there are four levels of pressure ulcers. In the first phase, no wound is visible, only a significantly defined redness of the skin. In the fourth and worst phase, the muscles and bones are already affected. Depending on the severity and the phase, the healing process may take several months and may require surgical intervention.

If the wound is infected, the patients can suffer from severe pain. In most cases, when it comes to decubitus ulcers, pain therapy is recommended in addition to other treatments. The main advantage of the TENS method for pain relief is that it is a non-drug treatment. Therefore it is also suited for long-term treatments. TENS therapy is based on stimulation with low electric pulses and is applied to the patient using electrodes. The electrodes must be placed only on healthy skin around the affected area. It should be noted that the ulcer may have spread much further under the skin and that it may not be visible to the naked eye. TENS not only blocks the pain information that goes to the brain but it also promotes the blood flow in the tissue, supporting the healing process.