Pain free with PEMF therapy
It’s no secret that pain management is an epic uphill battle for society at large. Let’s see the implications and then learn how PEMF therapy works for pain management.
Gatskin & Richards reported(1) the cost of healthcare and wasted productivity on account of pain hovers between $560 billion and $635 billion per annum — a figure that outstrips the cost associated with cancers and heart diseases.
Besides their well-known side effects like addiction and toxicity, most modern remedies for pain can only soothe pain temporarily and are ineffective for the treatment chronic pain; the underlying condition causing pain has to be resolved. Ground breaking achievements in the field of Biomagnetics seem to be paving the way for the emergence of more tenacious way to manage and reduce pain in the form of Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) and heal the underlying condition at the same time.
Since the beginning of human civilization, magnetic fields have been used for pain relief and to promote healing. However a breakthrough came through a study in the 1940s that gathered that the permeability of cell membranes was directly affected by pulsed magnetic fields. The transmission of electrical impulses via cell membranes results in the generation of the body’s magnetic field which also has a pulse or a frequency.
In aging and debilitated cells, the inflow of nutrients accompanied is also accompanied with a current of toxic fluids. It has been established that pain is felt as a result of the stimulation of peripheral nociceptors. When this stimulation occurs, encoded signals of distress are transmitted in an ascending pattern to the uppermost cortical structures.
A PEMF device furnishes an external pulsed electromagnetic field that facilitates the optimum electromagnetic environment for cells to regulate the inflow and outflow of electrically charged ions in tissues. Due to enhanced cellular performance, cell membranes are invigorated, this is how Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) therapy improves oxygenation and nutrient absorption in body cells. The pangs and throes of pain can be conceived of as signals that permeate our consciousness, alerting us of endangered cells and tissues in our bodies.
Pain management with PEMF therapy addresses the root cause of the pain by imbuing the damaged cells with improved blood oxygen levels, helping to detoxify and rebuild, while also repairing the nerves associated with signals transmitted by the peripheral nociceptors at the same time to provide pain relief.
Tissues in numerous body parts including bones, blood vessels, muscle tissues and nerves can all be re-energized through using PEMF devices for pain management.
While it’s true not that all pain could possibly healed by a single method, as the causes of the pain matter most and may not be treatable by PEMF, which targets to heal the cause of the pain as well. For example, PEMF is not effective in pathogenic environments in the body as the microorganisms will also find PEMF nutritious and thrive in it. In such pathogenic environment, such as in case of Lymes Disease, electric zapper devices might be the best electrotherapy mode rather than PEMF. PEMF could employed for rapid recovery after the pathogens are over-powered or vanquished by using electrotherapy.
Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy accelerates the healing process by stimulating metabolism in body cells to allow for proper circulation of oxygen and nutrients in the affected cells, and this catalyzes the repairs of fractured bones and strained tissues.
Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy is a new frontier in Western medicine, and is renowned for being devoid of the regular side-effects and downsides associated with pain medications.
The most effective device for pain management, a PEMF device emits low frequency pulsating magnetic fields at a relatively low amplitude and most consumer devices can be used in daily routine for long-term recovery.
Static magnetic therapy does not use impulses like PEMF as they only produce minimal magnetic induction.
The applicator pads, electromagnets or coils of the PEMF device generate frequency specific magnetic fields that penetrate deeper and have energy that is transmitted to anything in its path.
Correctly tuned Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields deliver fast relief from pain, usually the effect is seen within few minutes, and they rapidly permeate other body cells to convey benefits that leave a long-lasting effect. PEMF therapy works without exposing patients to the risk of abuse, invasiveness and potential toxicity.
PEMF devices come in various designs and configurations.
The OMI Pads is one of the most widely used PEMF device, and is also designed to facilitate deep delta rhythm sleep along with its recovery programs. Deep sleep causes recovery to accelerate and thereby reduces pain faster more naturally. The OMI Pads Full-body PEMF system is contrived to generate magnetic fields that “entrain” the brain by setting it in a cycle of regularized sleep rhythm. Thus it not only delivers PEMFs but also uses it in a much more effective manner to provide brainwave entrainment. It could just be the most effective brainwave entrainment tool too (and not just PEMF!). Brainwave entrainment basically means training your brain to operate at the best level of consciousness at any given time of the day. When a good circadian rhythm is established, the body performs best, recovery happens optimally and many types of pain vanish faster.
With its pillow applicator, the Sedona Pro can also be used to target specific pain areas. The
Back in 2002, a pilot study was carried out to objectively assess the effectiveness of PEMF. In the study, some 11 patients suffering from chronic pain for more than two years were placed on a PEMF therapy in order to determine how PEMF influences sleep patterns and pain reception. After a few months of treatment, 7 of the 11 patients, having been subjectively evaluated by Visual analog pain scales, reported significant alleviation of pain. The report on the study was tremendously positive.
Pain management with PEMF therapy is increasingly gaining wide acceptance in mainstream integrative and alternative medicine practices. The potentials of PEMF therapy is being continually harnessed not only for the remedy of chronic pain, but for treatment of scads of medical conditions as well.
Further Reading References:
(1) Gaskin D, Richard P. The economic costs of pain in the United States. J Pain. 2012;13(8):715–724. [PubMed]
Kortekaas R, van N, Baas V, et al. A novel magnetic stimulator increases experimental pain tolerance in healthy volunteers — a double-blind sham-controlled crossover study. PLoS One. 2013;8(4):e61926. [PubMed]
Tzabazis A, Aparici C, Rowbotham M, Schneider M, Etkin A, Yeomans D. Shaped magnetic field pulses by multi-coil repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) differentially modulate anterior cingulate cortex responses and pain in volunteers and fibromyalgia patients. Mol Pain. 2013;9:33. [PubMed]
Uzunca K, Birtane M, Taştekin N. Effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy in lateral epicondylitis. Clin Rheumatol. 2007;26(1):69–74. [PubMed]
Onesti E, Gabriele M, Cambieri C, et al. H-coil repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for pain relief in patients with diabetic neuropathy. Eur J Pain. 2013;17(9):1347–1356. [PubMed]
de G, Viganò M, Galliera E, et al. In vitro functional response of human tendon cells to different dosages of low-frequency pulsed electromagnetic field. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2015;23(11):3443–3453. [PubMed]
