Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy

Electromagnetic field therapy has been in use since the invention of electricity. Veterinarians became the first health professionals to use PEMF therapy, usually to attempt to heal broken legs in racehorses.[5] In 2004, a pulsed electromagnetic field system was approved by the FDA as an adjunct to cervical fusion surgery in patients at high risk for non-fusion.[5] On 13 October 2015 the FDA reclassified PEMF wellness devices from the Class 3 category to a Class 2 status. PEMF devices that have been FDA cleared are able to make health claims that require a doctor's prescription for use.[6]

Although claims that electricity might aid bone healing was reported as early as 1841, it was not until the mid-1950s that scientists seriously studied the subject. During the 1970s, Bassett and his team introduced a new approach which attempted to treat delayed fractures; a technique that employed a very specific biphasic low frequency signal to be applied for non-union/delayed fractures.[7][8][9][10] The use of electrical stimulation in the lumbosacral region was first attempted by Alan Dwyer of Australia.[11][12]

The original PEMF devices consisted of a Helmholtz coil which generated a magnetic field. The patient's body was placed inside the magnetic field to deliver treatment. Today, the majority of PEMF wellness devices resemble a typical yoga mat in dimensions but are slightly thicker to house several flat spiral coils to produce an even electromagnetic field. A frequency generator is then used to energize the coils to create a pulsed electromagnetic field. A wide variety of professional and consumer PEMF devices are sold and marketed as FDA registered wellness devices.[6] The majority are manufactured in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and are imported into North America as electric massagers or full body electric yoga mats. They are either placed on a massage table for clinical use or directly on the floor in the home to practice simple yoga postures. The companies that sell and manufacture them as "general wellness products" are not permitted to make medical claims of effectiveness in treating disease.[6]

• Radionics
• Pulsed radiofrequency#Therapeutic uses

• Vavken, Patrick; Arrich, Ferdi; Schuhfried, Othmar; Dorotka, Ronald (2009-05-01). "Effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy in the management of osteoarthritis of the knee: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials". Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. 41 (6): 406–411. doi:10.2340/16501977-0374. ISSN 1651-2081. PMID 19479151.