Upper back pain often occurs as a result of trauma, sudden injury or constant strain from poor posture or carrying heavy loads. Do any of these scenarios echo with you?

The car grinds to an alarming halt, everyone jerks forward, thankfully saved by their protective seat belts. The passengers scramble out of the vehicle to check that they are actually all in one piece. They are, however, you're struggling to move your neck without extraordinary electric twinges shooting down your upper back. You have whiplash.

Tap, tap, tap, tap go the keys of your work computer…all day…9-5pm, meaning that apart from that brief lunch break where you occasionally pop out for lunch, instead of effortlessly remaining at your computer and checking out facebook or youtube, you are hunched over that screen enhancing that ache that seems to be getting worse in your upper back and neck. You have upper back and neck strain.

You find yourself again in that dark room carrying your baby, walking her up and down singing the same old lullabies hoping she'll fall asleep quickly. 'Sleep training is definitely on the cards' you're thinking. She is 8 months now and not the same light weight she once was at 2 months. You place her in the cot and she cries. You pick her up again and pang! something goes in your back. You move and a shot of pain goes through your right shoulder blade. Ouch! What was that? You have a sudden upper back injury.

If any of these scenarios resonate with an experience you have had or something similar then you will know the discomfort. There are a few methods to relieve the pain including drugs and osteopathy. However, TENS machines is an effective pain killing alternative. TENS or Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a non-invasive, drug-free method of pain relief. Pads are placed on or near the area of pain, the user switches on the battery powered small unit and soothing pulses are sent through the skin and along the nerve fibers. The pulses counteract the back pain signals preventing them going to the brain. TENS machines also encourages the body to produce higher levels of its own natural pain killing chemicals called Endorphins and Encephalitis. The pain relief can last hours; the longer and more often you use it the longer the pain stays at bay. A big plus is that you can continue daily activities whilst receiving the treatment and apart from occasional pad replacement it's a one-time cost.

Share with us your upper back pain relief experiences and any good results from using TENS machines.