PEMF Research
Pulsed electromagnetic field's therapeutic benefits have been documented with increasing frequency since 1973. Within the past decade PEMF research has grown to include textbooks, specialty journals, individual articles, peer-reviewed, scientific sources, and regular reviews by government agencies.
PEMF provides a safe method to treat the whole body, directly over the site of injury, at the source of pain and inflammation, and a variety of diseases and pathologies. The International Journal of Neuroscience found that very weak magnetic fields have been shown to repair and grow soft tissue, bones, and nerves. The magnetic fields created by PEMF therapy is at a specific frequency and intensity to gain a therapeutic effect but not strong enough to create a magnetic pull on any implanted metallic objects, such as joint replacements, surgical implants or clips, or piercings.
The Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation journal found that PEMF therapy is used to treat pain, cancer, epilepsy, and inflammatory diseases like psoriasis, tendinitis, and rheumatoid arthritis. The research has been performed for hundreds of issues, and here are some results:
Back Pain
Neuro Rehabilitation found that magnetic fields have significant potential for reducing pain in cases of lumbar radiculopathy and whiplash syndrome.
A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial performed on patients with chronic low back pain found that in a 2 week period there was a significant improvement of 20.5% reduction of pain.
In a separate study patients with chronic neck pain found a greater improvement with PEMF over spa therapy. After 6 months of treatment the PEMF group had 33 improved, 5 not improved, 4 lost to follow-up;The spa therapy group had 24 improved, 14 not improved, 6 lost to follow-up. -Annales de Readaptation et de Medecine Physique
Arthritis
Osteoarthritis(OA) of the knee has been shown to reduce impairment in activities of daily living and improve knee function with the use of PEMF treatment.
According to Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine low-amplitude, extremely low frequency magnetic fields are safe and effective for treating patients with chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis. After a treatment session the reduction of pain was significantly greater in the magnetic field-on group (46%) compared to the magnetic field-off group (8%).
In the Journal of Rheumatology states that PEMF has potential as an effective method of improving symptoms in patients with OA.
A randomized, double-blind clinical trial was conducted to determine the effectiveness of PEMF in treating OA of the knee and cervical spine. PEMF treatment showed significant changes from baseline at a one month follow-up when compared to the placebo group. -Journal of Rheumatology
Fibromyalgia
Pain & Research Management performed a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial with patients that had generalized pain from fibromyalgia or chronic localized musculoskeletal/inflammatory pain. The study showed an analgesic (anti-pain) effect in many organisms.
TMJ
A study conducted on TMJ pain found that the experimental group using PEMF therapy had significant mouth opening, right lateral movement, and left lateral movement. There was no significant change in the control group with the same movements. The results from the study strongly suggest that PEMF is a safe and effective treatment for TMJ pain and increasing jaw range of motion. -Cranio
Tinnitus
A study performed on tinnitus showed that at the end of one week of treatment 45% of patients had symptoms significantly reduced or abolished whereas the placebo showed only 9% improvement. -Clinical Otolaryngology and Allied Services
Rotator Cuff Tendinitis
A double-blind controlled study of 29 patients whose symptoms were minimal to steroid injection and other conventional conservative measures underwent PEMF therapy. At the end of the study 19 (65%) of the patients were symptom-less and 5 were much improved. The Lancet found PEMF therapy to be useful in treatment of severe and persistent rotator cuff and possibly other chronic tendon lesions.
Migraine/Headaches
At the end of an active treatment study of using PEMF and a placebo group, all patients in the PEMF group had significantly improvement. 76% of the active-treatment patients experienced clear or very clear relief of symptoms. Out of the placebo group only 1(2.5%) felt some relief, 8% slight relief, and 2% reported significantly worsening symptoms. -Advances in Therapy
Diabetic Neuropathy
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found significant improvement of symptoms in peripheral circulation after therapy. PEMF is also able to accelerate wound healing under diabetic and normal condition and preventing tissue necrosis. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery also suggested that PEMF may be useful to prevent ulcer formation, necrosis, and amputation in diabetic patients.
A clinical study involving 121 patients with diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) were tested before and after treatment to see the response in the nerves that were involved. Application of PEMF facilitated regression of the main clinical symptoms of DPN, improved the conduction function of peripheral nerves, and improved the reflex excitability in the spinal cord. PEMF was found to have therapeutic efficacy in the initial stages of DPN and in patient with diabetes mellitus for up to 10 years. -Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology.
Wound Healing
Pulsed magnetic field proved to be highly effective when treating wounds. Would healing was 3-3.5 times faster, and duration of treatment was 2-3 times shorter than in standard procedure. -Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Bone Density/Osteoporosis
The Journal of Bone and Mineral Research exposed 20 osteoporosis-prone women to PEMF therapy and found that the clinical application may aid in prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Low-frequency PEMF relieves the pain if primary osteoporosis quickly and effectively, enhances bone formation and increases bone mineral density of secondary osteoporosis. -Chinese Medical Journal
Ankle Sprain
A randomized, prospective, double blind study of 50 grade I and II ankle sprains was performed on active duty troops in training and found the application of PEMF resulted in significant decreased in lost time to military training.
Cartilage
A journal in Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology and Arthroscopy provided studies showing PEMF protecting articular cartilage from the catabolic effects of pro-inflammatory cells, and preventing degeneration. It also reduced the use of NSAIDs and had a positive long-term effect.