---
title: "What Is Stimulation intensity? TENS and Pain Glossary"
description: "Stimulation intensity is how strong the current feels. A 2022 review calls it critical to therapeutic success, and the NHS says it should not be painful."
url: https://analgesic.multisites.ai/glossary/stimulation-intensity
publisher: Analgesic Healthcare
phone: +1-800-749-1188
contact: https://analgesic.multisites.ai/contact
---

Therapy

# Stimulation intensity

Stimulation intensity is how strong the current feels. A 2022 review calls it critical to therapeutic success, and the NHS says it should not be painful.

Intensity is the setting you turn up or down on a TENS unit. The NHS says to turn the dial slowly until you feel a tingling sensation and that it should not be painful. University of Iowa Health Care advises setting the intensity to be strong but comfortable. A 2022 review in Medicina says stimulation intensity has been documented as critical to therapeutic success. It also says the size of TENS effects remains uncertain. Muscles may twitch, and University of Iowa says the feeling can fade as your body gets used to it. Do not turn the setting up to a painful level. Follow your clinician's and your device's instructions. Read [TENS unit settings explained](https://analgesic.multisites.ai/guides/tens-unit-settings-explained).

## Related terms

-   [Pulse width](https://analgesic.multisites.ai/glossary/pulse-width)
-   [Pulse frequency](https://analgesic.multisites.ai/glossary/pulse-frequency)
-   [TENS unit](https://analgesic.multisites.ai/glossary/tens-unit)
-   [TENS](https://analgesic.multisites.ai/glossary/tens)

## Sources

1.  [Medicina (2022), PMC: Using TENS for Pain Control: Update on the State of the Evidence](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9611192/)
2.  [NHS: TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/transcutaneous-electrical-nerve-stimulation-tens/)
3.  [University of Iowa Health Care: Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (TENS)](https://uihc.org/health-topics/transcutaneous-electrical-nerve-stimulator-tens)

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