"Every month some  percent of women suffer from monthly httponlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi..CDfull periodrelated pain httponlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi..CDfull. And theres not a whole lot they can do beyond trying to blunt it with painrelieving pills or oral contraceptives. Whoopi Goldberg http recently stepped in with a new line of medical marijuanabased  httpwhoopiandmaya.comedibles and bath products of questionable effectiveness aimed at this underserved market. Related Whoopi Goldberg is launching a line of marijuana products to treat period pain. Theres no science behind them.  http Now theres Livia httpsgo.redirectingat.comidXxsurlhttpsAFF a medical device thats being marketed as the off switch for menstrual pain. Heres how it works Users simply attach two electrodes to the areas on their abdomen that hurt and switch on the colorful palmsize gadget. According to Livias makers the device immediately sends nervestimulating electric pulses through the two electrodes and poof  the pain is gone. Livia has received rave reviews in international womens magazines like Cosmopolitan and Glamour and more than  crowdfunders from around the world have put upward of  into Livias Indiegogo httpsgo.redirectingat.comidXxsurlhttpsAFF campaign. For now its only possible to preorder the device at a cost of  and wait six months for it to ship. As far as gadgetry for womens health goes this one is novel. But does Livia actually work Theres no good way to evaluate that right now since Livias makers havent made the findings of their studies on the devices effects public. But theres some reason for optimism The device is basically a repackaging of another cheaper technology that has already been proven to help women who suffer with their monthly cycles. Livia is essentially TENS . To learn more about Livia I reached out to Chen Nachum the companys founder and CEO. He explained that the key to the device is TENS transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation those electronic nerve stimulators youve probably seen in strip malls that hook up to the body to treat neck or back pain. Theyre also available on the internets strip mall Amazon httpsgo.redirectingat.comidXxsurlhttpAFF_sb_nossFurlDsearchaliasDapsfieldkeywordsDtens. TENS devices are generally thought to work through the paingate theory of pain. The idea is the nerve system cannot work with two types of signals at the same time Nachum explained so what Livia does is transmit frequency to the nerve system that it is very similar to the bodys frequency but its not something the body knows. When the frequency from the device hits the brain faster than the pain the brain takes that signal first and is distracted from the menstrual aches the company claims. So far Nachum said they have tested the device on  women in two different trials  and more than  percent experienced relief with the device. The company is currently working on another study which will include about  women.   Based on these studies Nachum is trying to get Food and Drug Administration approval to market Livia as a menstrual pain reliever. Doctors already prescribe TENS for period pain Jen Gunter httpsdrjengunter.wordpress.com an OBGYN and pain medicine specialist noted that the idea of using TENS for menstrual pain is actually very sound. In fact theres enough research that the Cochrane Collaboration was able to put together a review of the evidence httponlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi..CDfull. Its conclusion Highfrequency nerve stimulation may help relieve painful menstrual cramps. In an email Gunter said she frequently prescribes highfrequency TENS pulses between  and  hertz at a low intensity to treat patients who suffer through their periods I have done so for more than  years. Prescribed one this morning in fact. They really help some women she added. The benefit here is that unlike antiinflammatories and oral contraceptives TENS is a nondrug intervention and according to the Cochrane Review theres research that suggests women even take fewer pain relievers when using these devices. Gunters main question about Livia is whether it will be significantly different from the already available and effective TENS devices which usually cost around . Nothing the CEO has disclosed makes Livia sound like anything other than a TENS unit she wrote. So I guess its an expensive pink TENS unit   The company says the device would retail at  about the cost of four TENS units. But this assumes Livia will take off enough to justify retailing.  Gunter also wondered whether Livia will be high frequency enough to be helpful. As that Cochrane review found lowfrequency TENS dont seem to do much to cut pain for women.  When I asked Nachum about the devices frequency he said We cant share this information at this point.  And while he claims that Livia is more effective at treating period pain than the cheaper already available TENS units he said its frequency and wave shape are unique and optimized especially for relieving menstrual pain without publicly available studies comparing the two all we have to go on is his word. The Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wouldnt comment on Livia because no studies on it have been published.  For now Gunter pointed out the TENS units that are already available can help women  and raising awareness about that might be Livias biggest benefit. If Livia gets more women to know about TENS then great she said. But to call it something new or different seems disingenuous unless of course they have published ... data that says otherwise."