For runners

Pain is stopping you training. Not your running.

The persistent lower back ache after long runs. The hip that grumbles for two days. TENS does not replace training. It removes what is stopping it.

Running should not cause back pain. That is the frustrating part. You are active, you stretch, you are in better shape than most. But there is that persistent lower back ache that arrives on mile 8 and stays for two days. The hip that grumbles. The sciatic twinge that makes the stairs difficult the morning after a long run.

For active people, pain carries an extra layer: identity. The concern that you are going to have to cut mileage. That this is the body saying enough. That you are becoming someone who cannot run.

Most of the time it is not that. It is nerve and muscle irritation — the lower back working hard to stabilise during repetitive impact, the hip flexors shortening, the piriformis compressing the sciatic nerve. Not structural damage in most cases. Manageable pain with the right tool.

TENS does not replace running. It removes the pain that is stopping you running consistently. That is the practical difference.

How it works

Why running creates back and nerve pain — and what TENS does about it

Repetitive running impact compresses the lumbar discs and loads the lower back stabilisers. Over time — or in a single long session — this irritates the nerve roots and surrounding muscle tissue, creating both direct pain and referred pain that can radiate into the glutes and down the leg.

Heat helps temporarily by increasing blood flow. Ice reduces acute inflammation. Neither addresses the nerve signal itself.

Arca works in two modes: TENS mode interrupts the pain signal pathway at the nerve level, reducing pain intensity within minutes of use. EMS mode stimulates muscle contraction, which supports active recovery and reduces muscular tension that compresses nerve tissue.

Practically: use Arca in the 30–60 minutes after a long run, or the morning after when the ache arrives. It works during low-intensity movement. It does not restrict activity.

2.3×

More effective than heat therapy for nerve-related pain at 4-week follow-up — Kaye et al., 2014

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“

PLACEHOLDER: The lower back pain after long runs was becoming a real problem. I was cutting mileage. Arca has genuinely changed that — I use it the evening after and the next morning I am fine.

— PLACEHOLDER NAME, verified customer

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