I thought those things could be felt so no true double blind could be done. It might have a counterirritant effect, like Ben-Gay.
Losing weight, stretching and doing core exercises are the only treatment that has worked for me.
They can be, they can also be cranked up to shock the living crap outta you.
You’re right in that double blind is near impossible. Part of the protocol was to counsel patients that they may or may not feel anything. Course it was rather obvious if we made the mistake of changing an electrode in an active unit that had been left off.
If your pain is really bad you may have to crank it up to full throttle. ‘Sorta like hitting your thumb with a hammer makes you forget about a headache.
I’ve used one myself for acute low back pain and it worked. It does indeed have a counter irritant component. The nerve fatigues and the pain is improved. Don’t have an opinion on the chronic pain. Unfortunately for acute pain the only real treatment is time, and for chronic pain we don’t even have that.