“I’m not going to lie, I’m shaking over here,” said DJ, a member of the friend group that posts under the TikTok account benztraphouse, before his own experience.
One by one, the friend group had a chance to experience what menstrual cramps felt like from the machine. While most of the women in the group seemed unaffected, one even said that the pain delivered by the machine wasn’t as bad as what she experiences monthly, it wasn’t as easy for their male counterparts.
“Is it supposed to hurt like that?” asked Josh, another member of the group. “It’s stabbing me! What do I do?”
They talked about where the pain traveled, including in their backs, knees and legs. When it was DJ’s turn to test the contraption, he doubled over from the pain.
Some people simulate menstruation cramps by using a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) machine. Cleveland Clinic reported that TENS machines are generally used to treat pain by blocking or changing an individual’s perception of pain by delivering electrical impulses on the surface of the skin. The machine treats a number of common pains, including osteoarthritis, tendinitis and low back pain.
In addition to abdominal cramps and pain, people who menstruate may experience other symptoms during their period. According to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, other symptoms include lower back pain, food cravings, headache and fatigue.
“The quote ‘women come built with pain, men have to go and search it out’ has never rung more true,” one TikTok viewer commented.
Other commenters wrote the experience should be “mandatory” for men.
“Hear me out. Let’s make [policymakers] do this, so women can get time off or benefits for having to go through this pain every month and still work,” one TikToker wrote.
Another joked that they should have worn the machine for one week straight, worked and cleaned the house.
“But then you have to imagine that pain for HOURS without letting up you really start to question your sanity,” one person wrote.
Newsweek reached out to benztraphouse for further comment.
