PULSED ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD
What is PEMF?
PEMF, often referred to as “pulse therapy”, energizes the body by applying soothing pulsed electro-magnetic stimulation. According to research from Yale Medical University from as far back as 1932, they discovered that the depletion of electrical energy from the body is the root cause of general decline in wellbeing.
Imagine your body as a battery. Over time, daily stressors slowly drain your cells of the electrical energy it needs to function optimally. When the voltage in our cells drops below ideal levels, our cells do not have enough power to do their job.
According to Dr. Jerry Tennant, MD, author of the book Healing is Voltage, “Normal, healthy body cells in the body are designed to run at -20 to -25 millivolts. However cells need a charge of -50 millivolts to repair damage and activate healing. When voltage drops below -20 millivolts, we get chronically sick.” This is when we begin experiencing stress, pain and inflammation — all symptoms of poor cellular health.
How PEMF works
Health Benefits
ATHLETIC RECOVERY
All athletes, no matter the age, can benefit from PEMF. Elite professional and Olympic athletes have been using PEMF for some time now. In addition to the accelerated healing from injuries, PEMF can help recover quickly from the body soreness that could otherwise keep athletes out of the gym or on the sideline.
by using PEMF, traumatized tissue and edema get reduced significantly faster without the use of painkillers or other drugs. PEMF therapy reduces the incidents of torn muscles and ligaments, and other related injuries. Due to this increased synthesis of repair proteins, a faster healing process is achieved helping prevent sports related disabilities and chronic conditions. Studies show that with PEMF therapy, the uptake of oxygen into muscle increases by at least 1%, which is sufficient to considerably improve endurance and performance. By supporting removal of the toxins and lactic acid from the cells, using PEMF after exercise can reduce soreness, muscle spasms, cramping, and the breakdown of tissues.
BONE MENDING AND WOUND HEALING
PEMFs work to repair bones, whether damaged by surgery, injury, or disease and have been found to improve bone regeneration such as occurs with osteoporosis and osteopenia, among other bone destroying conditions. Because PEMF supports damaged tissue, wounds heal much faster, in one-third to one-half the time with less scarring.
PAIN AND INFLAMMATION
SLEEP DISTURBANCES
CONCUSSION AND TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI)
CHRONIC FATIGUE
NERVE REGENERATION OR NEUROREGENERATION
Neurological issues such as spine, back pain, sciatica, cervical, herniated or ruptured disc, multiple sclerosis, or even stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease can benefit tremendously with pulsed electromagnetic field therapy.
Back in 2002, NASA’s PEMF scientist, Thomas J. Goodwin reported that 10 Hz PEMF therapy application to neural tissues resulted in 400% improvement in regeneration. Astronauts use PEMF in space for functioning of our body’s bioelectric system.
MUSCLE PERFORMANCE
PEMF therapy triggers the process of energy production in muscles and also increases the cellular energy by as much as 500%. This allows muscles to work harder and longer, and recover more quickly from their work. PEMFs maximize growth factors by increasing nitric oxide production effectively reducing exercised induced inflammation and improving vascular function.
For anyone trying to improve strength and muscle size, PEMF can help maximize that process. It would also apply if you are just trying to recover from hard workouts to add lean muscle. Not only can PEMF help muscles recover faster, it also helps your entire nervous system recover faster as well, which means better performance.
DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of magnetic field therapies on both depression and anxiety disorders as well as many other conditions affecting the brain. One study at Harvard Medical School found that the PEMF device they used prompted greater than 10% significant improvement in mood after just one 20-minute treatment in patients with bipolar disorder and in patients with major depressive disorder.
Another study found that after five weeks of active treatment with low intensity transcranial PEMF, there was a 62% reduction on a Depression Rating Scale among those in the active T-PEMF group. This study also found that improvement was noticeable within the first weeks of therapy.
HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES
STRESS REDUCTION
ARTHRITIS, RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS, OSTEOPOROSIS
PEMF therapy has been extensively researched for these conditions for more than two decades. A study done at Yale University in 1993, involving 27 people with OA of the knee. It showed that those who got 18 half-hour PEMF treatments had an average improvement of 23 to 61 percent in pain, joint tenderness and discomfort. Another double blind, placebo-controlled study was done at Johns Hopkins University where 78 patients with OA of the knee had four weeks of treatments or a placebo. The treated group had significantly better results in terms of pain, function and physician assessment than the placebo group.
FIBROMYALGIA
PEMF is an ideal adjunct treatment for fibromyalgia as it addresses the issue and its symptoms quite effectively. One of the reasons for the fatigue experienced in fibromyalgia is due to impaired circulation initiated by deficient nitric oxide levels in the blood. Low nitric oxide levels are a direct result of mitochondrial damage. PEMF therapy has been found to be highly effective in providing mitochondrial repair and it improves the oxygen carrying capability. On a cellular level, PEMF has been found to reduce hypoxic damage.
In 2007, scientists from Canada found that a 4 Gauss PEMF applied for 30 minutes daily for 7 days was effective in pain relief. In 2009, scientists from Turkey conducted a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical study of applying PEMF treatment for fibromyalgia. After 12 weeks of PEMF treatment, they found low-frequency PEMF therapy could improve function, pain, fatigue, and global health status in fibro patients..
In 2013, scientists from institutions in Spain also conducted a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial on the efficacy of magnetic stimulation for fibromyalgia and found that it may represent a safe and effective treatment for chronic pain and other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.
PARKINSON’S DISEASE
PEMFs have a great healing potential for Parkinson’s disease with several studies exhibiting improved gross and fine-motor movement function and cognitive abilities. PEMF has been shown to decrease the number of free radicals, so there is less inflammation and aging related degeneration slows down. The improved potential for neuron-regeneration using low level PEMF is also supported by this paper from NASA.
In 1996, Dr. Reuven Sandyk from Department of Neuroscience at the Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Rehabilitation Services of Touro College, NY, treated a 73 year old patient with a 10 year history of Parkinson’s disease using PEMF. Within a week of PEMF therapy, there was almost complete disappearance of PD tremors, start hesitation, freezing of gait, and in another patient an improvement in speech impairment.
In 2015, a joint research review study on the mechanisms and therapeutic applications of electromagnetic therapy in Parkinson’s disease by reputed researchers from Italy, Mexico and UK also concluded that PEMFs improve PD symptoms including tremor, slowness of movement and difficulty in walking. It is non-invasive, safe and improves PD patients’ quality of life.
In 2018, universities in Denmark conducted a randomized clinical trial to study the benefits of PEMF therapy for Parkinson’s disease. They applied 30 minute treatments using a 50 Hz PEMF field for 8-weeks and concluded that PEMF therapy does indeed benefit Parkinson’s patients, allowing them to rise up from their chairs faster. The best results have been shown in mild.