Can Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy Alleviate Chronic Pain?

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Can Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy Alleviate Chronic Pain?

March 30, 2017

Chronic pain is one of the most troubling medical conditions because it does not go away on its own and treatment can be expensive with some medications causing unwanted side effects. The prospect of taking prescription medications over an extended amount of time is not something that most people suffering from chronic pain want to undergo.

There are alternate treatment methods that help alleviate chronic pain and one of the most popular is pulsed electromagnetic therapy (PEMT).

What is Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy?

This is the use of electromagnetic waves that have been used for a wide variety of medical conditions, but arguably the most common is in the field of orthopedics. PEMT is most often used in the healing of bones where the waves generated help induce the greater production of repair at the cellular level. This means that several types of fractures can be healed at a faster rate.

While mainly used for orthopedics, it was discovered that the application of PEMT to patients reduced inflammation which in turn lowered the amount of pain that they were feeling. The reduced inflammation also increased the range of motion for many of the patients who underwent this therapy. When the results were noted, PEMT was used with those who suffered from other medical conditions that included those suffering from chronic pain.

Effectiveness of PEMT with Chronic Pain

There have been studies over the past couple of decades that have delved into the overall effectiveness of PEMT when it comes to alleviating chronic pain. While the results have been mixed, it is mostly due to the source of the pain itself. If the chronic pain is being generated by inflammation of the soft tissues, then PEMT offers substantial relief because it treats the source of the pain being generated.

However, a significant portion of the studies that have been performed are incomplete or did not have a wide sample base that would provide more insight into the effectiveness of PEMT. Animal studies have shown that PEMT is effective in not only reducing inflammation, but in releasing endorphins into the body which in turn helps to drive down the pain. However, the animal studies that were cited in one study did not seem to fully translate in the human trial, but there still were positive results obtained.

PEMT was an expensive treatment in hospitals and clinics, but thanks to recent breakthroughs the cost is now a fraction of what it once had been. Plus, because PEMT uses only electromagnetic waves, there are no side effects to the treatment. That means it can be used alone or with other treatments to combat chronic pain without fear of creating unwanted side effects.

While the jury may still be out on pulsed electromagnetic therapy until further, more comprehensive studies have been completed, it can be said that PEMT does show considerable promise in providing a low-cost treatment that can be used alone or in conjunction with other treatments in reducing chronic pain. This is especially true if the pain is being caused primarily from inflammation such as with arthritis.