1. Take note of exactly where your pain is located.  Outline the most concise and tender area of the pain.

2. Always use two pads (one channel) or four pads (two channels) at the same time depending upon the type of TENS unit that you have as it will not work with just one pad.

3. You can alter the flow of the electrical sensation if you change the distance between the electrode pads and/or the direction of the pads.

4. The pads can be placed in one of three directions 1. vertical   2. horizontal   3.  angulated.

5. The pads should never touch and should be at least, 2 cm apart. As the distance between the two pads increases the effectiveness decreases.

6. It is advisable not to place the pads directly over a joint such as the knee, elbow or ankle as its movement can alter the adherence of the pad.

 -advice on which direction to place the pads:

7. When the pain extends across a significant distance of your body (e.g. low back to just above the back of the knee): Place one of the pads vertically at the top of the pain and the other pad vertically at the bottom of the pain.

8. When the pain is more focused over a smaller area (e.g. calf pain): Place pads in parallel on each side of the pain.

9.When the pain is wide (e.g. between your shoulders below the neck): Place the pads to the left and right side of your spine in a vertical direction.  If pain extends out even further above or below the shoulder area, the pads can be angulated to encompass the region of discomfort.