For sciatica

Sciatica is a nerve problem. Most treatments are treating the wrong thing.

The radiating pain down your leg is not in your leg. It is your sciatic nerve. Arca targets the signal pathway, not the symptom.

Sciatica is not a back problem. The pain in the back, glute, and down the leg is coming from the sciatic nerve — compressed or irritated where it exits the lumbar spine. The nerve is sending pain signals along its full length. The leg hurts, but the source is the nerve pathway, not the leg.

This distinction matters because most treatments for back pain target the muscle, the disc, or the joint. These address the underlying cause, which matters. But they do not address the nerve signal itself. The pain continues because the nerve continues to fire.

TENS works differently. It sends electrical impulses along the nerve fibre, competing with the pain signal for bandwidth. The signal has to queue. What reaches the brain instead is the TENS signal: a controllable, adjustable tingling — not the radiating pain.

It is not a cure for the disc issue or nerve compression causing sciatica. But it is one of the most direct approaches to interrupting the pain signal while that underlying issue is managed over time.

Important

If your sciatica includes new leg weakness, numbness in the groin or inner thigh, or changes to bladder or bowel control, see a GP immediately before using any pain management device. These symptoms require urgent assessment.

How it works

Gate control theory, applied to a nerve problem

The sciatic nerve is the longest nerve in the body. When compressed or irritated — typically at the L4/L5 or L5/S1 disc level — it sends pain signals down its entire length. The pain in the calf or foot is not a calf or foot problem. It is the nerve firing from a source in the lower back.

Gate control theory proposes that pain signals can be blocked at the dorsal horn of the spinal cord by stimulating faster-conducting non-pain nerve fibres. TENS activates these fibres, effectively closing the gate on the pain signal before it reaches the brain.

For sciatica, TENS pads are placed along the lower back and the back of the upper thigh — along the path of the sciatic nerve, not at the site of felt pain. This is different from placing heat patches where the pain is felt. Arca's placement guide shows the correct positioning for sciatic pain.

Relief is not permanent. The nerve compression causing sciatica requires its own management — physio, exercise, sometimes medical intervention. TENS provides consistent, on-demand pain control during that process.

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: I had sciatica for six months. The pain down my left leg was the worst part. Arca is not a cure — I still have the underlying issue — but it is the first thing that has given me real control over the pain day to day.

— PLACEHOLDER NAME, verified customer

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