Magical TENS experience

I've been stretching for a few months and have unlocked a lot of my major muscles and have seen massive improvement in a lot of positions. My outer hips have remained lock tight which lead to intense lower back pain after walking even short distances. I also had terrible upper back tightness and ended up hunched over in pain at the end of many nights. Oh, and hamstrings that would move but remained rock hard all the time.

Last week I suddenly remembered that we had a TENS unit kicking around and figured it couldn't hurt. I looked at diagrams of placement options and realized I had probably not been crossing the electrodes when I tried it previously. So I criss crossed them between my shoulder blades and started trying the different styles. I started with the acupuncture setting and it felt like it got the muscles all confused and they let their guard down. Then I turned on the cupping setting and the muscles just started rolling, and I knew that I had just found my favorite. The circular pulling just started popping tiny muscle strands out of my joints and getting them to relax and lay down nicely. I also took advantage of the muscle movement and stretched during. Intentionally relaxing into the pulse finds different little muscles than flexing does. Tilting your hips back and forth uses different little muscles and they get a chance to get shook. It is amazing what is connected to what when it doesn't have the chance or choice to...just not participate. I move the pads around sometimes to target specific spots.

So I've worked down my back, the front of my hips and lower abdomen, and last night was outer hips and middle butt. One pad on my outer hip and the other right in the middle of my butt cheek. Wires criss-crossed all over because I still haven't figured out how to keep things neat back there. The relief was instant and incredible and it just kept getting better. I went back and forth between acupuncture and cupping with a little scraping mixed in. Steadily increasing intensity until everything was jiggling easily and then switching positions. On my back, sitting on the edge of the bed, frog, flat on my stomach, perched up on my stomach, you get it I was all over the place. Perched up on my stomach on top of a firm foam pillow with the cupping cranked, my cheeks started rolling like a meadow. And when the pulse paused, the shockwave spread up my lower back and I cannot describe the relief that washed over my entire body. Full body chills and fireworks in my brain. Laying on my side with my top knee bent pulled my entire outer hip loose. My unit has 80 minute cycles and I know I went through a few of those, but I also kept accidentally turning it off and restarting it.

I woke up this morning with some light but noticeable lower body tingling. That went away as I started moving. I figured a bunch of little guys just realized they could talk again and were just yelling because they could. Today has been incredible though. I can move! I can sway my hips without feeling off balance! My lowest back moves! Side to side and back and forth I can move! My hamstrings are soft, SOFT HAMSTRINGS! I feel great, a little tender and sore, but relaxed and awake. I'm taking it easy today but makeing sure I'm moving frequently. I kinda can't help but sit on the couch and just...fold forward right between my knees and tilt my pelvis back and forth. It can do so much more now.

I just wanted to share in case it helps anyone else. Cross the pads, find your settings, increase intensity slowly when you want to, and stretch during. My life genuinely improved like 400% overnight. I can't wait to see how much improvement I get now. I will definitely continue shaking the shit out of my muscles.