PEMF Studies

Osteoporosis is becoming a great social and medical problem due to the elderly population. Various forms of prevention and treatment are needed to deal with this problem. It has been found that pulsed electromagnetic field therapy is safe and effective in treating osteoporosis. This review thus concentrates on the progress of recent studies done so far on PEMF in the treatment of osteoporosis.

Various studies have clearly shown that bone density in osteoporosis-prone patients exposed to specific pulsed electromagnetic fields increases. Properly applied pulsed electromagnetic fields, if scaled for whole body use, have clear clinical benefits for treatment of osteoporosis.

Effectiveness of PEMF therapy in fractures and non-unions. 

The structure and physiology of bone and physiotherapeutic modalities to promote fracture healing.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common disorder of the musculoskeletal system and is a consequence of mechanical and biological events that destabilize tissue homeostasis in articular joints. 
Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) have a number of well-documented physiological effects on cells and tissues including the upregulation of gene expression of members of the transforming growth factor b super family, the increase in glycosaminoglycan levels, and an antiinflammatory action. Therefore, there is a strong rationale supporting the in vivo use of biophysical stimulation with PEMFs for the treatment of OA. In the present paper some recent experimental in vitro and in vivo data on the effect of PEMFs on articular cartilage were reviewed. These data strongly support the clinical use of PEMFs in OA patients.

This study examines the effect of treatment with a pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) upon the morphological progression of osteoarthritis in this animal model.. Treatment with PEMF appears to be disease-modifying in this model of osteoarthritis.

PEMF exposure significantly increased PG synthesis ranging from 12% at 4 h to 17% at 24 h of exposure. At all the magnetic field peak amplitude values, a significant PG synthesis increase was measured in PEMF-exposed explants compared to controls, with maximal effect at 1.5 mT. No effect of pulse frequency was observed on PG synthesis stimulation.

Osteo-arthritis, a painful joint disorder involving degenerative changes of the articular cartilage and subchondral bone, often results in progressive functional impairment and disability. One particular modality used by physiotherapists that shows very promising results in reducing the joint damage and pain found in osteo-arthritis is pulsed electromagnetic fields.

Electromagnetic therapy is a non-invasive and safe approach for the management of several pathological conditions including neurodegenerative diseases. Electromagnetic therapy has been extensively used in the clinical setting in the form of transcranial magnetic stimulation, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy which can also be used in the domestic setting. Electromagnetic therapy represents a non-invasive, safe and promising approach that can be used alone or combined with conventional therapies for the challenging treatment of PD motor and non-motor symptoms.

PEMF reducs pain and may be a helpful modality in the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Although the treatment time is quite long and necessitates compliance, it can be used in patients avoiding invasive approaches. 

This article highlights recent research on the beneficial use of selected low frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) as a safe alternative therapy for treatment of cancer and other health problems. It is shown that EMF therapy provides a safe alternative and adjunct modality for the treatment of cancer and other health problems, and therefore, research in this field deserves more support.

This review has attempted to provide the reader with enough information to show there is an abundance of experimental and clinical data demonstrating that exogenous electromagnetic fields of surprisingly low levels can have a profound effect on a large variety of biological systems. Both Electrical and electromagnetic devices have been demonstrated to positively affect the healing process in fresh fractures, delayed and nonunions, osteotomies, and spine fusion in orthopedics and for chronic and acute wound repair. These clinical results have been validated by well designed and statistically powered double blind clinical trials and have survived meta analyses.

• PEMF for osteonecrosis

• PEMF for musculoskeletal disorders

• Effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields on human osteoblastlike cells

• Effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields on bone and cartilage growth.

• Stimulation of experimental endochondral ossification by lowenergy pulsing electromagnetic fields.

• Electromagnetic fields for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Prevention and treatment of osteoporosis by pulsed electromagnetic fields, bone growth and healing.

Benefits of PEMF for various conditions.