There was an elderly gent in the community I was raised in who had severe arthritis in his hands. He owned a '52 or '53 Chevy car with the metal end spark plug wires. He would grab #1 and #6 plug wires and hold on for a few seconds. He said that the shocks eased the pain of the arthritis. Methinks that all it did was take his mind off the pain, but he said it helped.
I don't doubt for one second that grabbing those wires relieved his arthritis pain for a while.
Nerves send pain signals to the brain. Then your brain tells you that something is amiss.
Electricity applied to the nerves near the arthritis wears out/confuses those nerves so that they no longer sends the signal to the brain and the pain is gone.
Chiropractors use a TENS unit which shocks your lower back which wears out/confuses the nerves which are in the swollen, spasming muscles that are causing the nerves coming out of the spinal column to become pinched. When you are done with the procedure, the pain is gone until you do something as soon as you get home.
