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PEMF and Bone Health

The bones in our body are responsible for supporting most of our weight and protecting our internal organs.

They are incredibly strong but, unfortunately, not invincible.

When they break, sometimes the healing process takes a lot of time and is not always completely successful.

For example, nonunion fracture is a term used for bone fractures that have not healed completely after an expected period.

The therapy in such cases usually is reconstructive surgery; however, PEMF therapy can help, as well, by accelerating the healing process and making it more successful.

Furthermore, PEMF can also help with osteoporosis. How exactly does this happen?

We’ll learn that, and more about PEMF and bone health, in this PEMF article.

 

What is Bone Health?

Bone health depends on many factors, and there are many diseases from which bones can suffer if we do not pay enough attention to their health.

The most common one of these diseases is osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis causes our bones to be weak and fragile, so they are more likely to break.

People who have osteoporosis usually break a bone in their hips, spine, and wrists, but all bones in the body are at risk.

Like everything in our body, our bones are alive.

Just as our skin cells shed and new ones grow to replace them, so our bone cells die and new ones take their place.

As long as this process is well-balanced, our bones will be healthy and strong.

When an imbalance appears and more cells die than are born, we start developing osteoporosis.

It is important to know about the risks and prevention in order to keep your bones in the best health possible.

 

What Are the Risk Factors?

Many factors can cause you to have an increased risk of getting osteoporosis.

Most of these factors are related to our lifestyle, but some of them are also related to factors we cannot change.

Here are the most important ones.

  • Eating habits
  • Lack of physical activity
  • Being overweight or obese
  • Smoking cigarettes
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Taking medicines
  • Old age
  • Ethnicity
  • Gender
  • Family history

Of course, some of these factors we can control and they can help us prevent osteoporosis.

However, we cannot change our age, ethnicity, gender, or our genes.

For example, older people, women, Asians, and people with a family history of osteoporosis are more at risk of getting this disease.

Therefore, if you are in any of these groups, make sure you check your bone health regularly.

 

How to Prevent Osteoporosis?

The most significant action that you can take to lower your chances of getting osteoporosis is to change your everyday habits.

  • Eat foods rich in calcium and vitamin D, and spend plenty of time outside in the sun
  • Get plenty of exercise
  • Quit smoking and drinking alcohol if you are
  • Learn as much as you can about bone health
  • Avoid risks of falling if you are in a risk group for osteoporosis

In addition to all of these factors, PEMF therapy is also known both to prevent osteoporosis and to treat some other bone conditions, such as nonunion fractures.

Let’s learn how you can use it to your advantage, and make your bones as strong as ever.

 

How PEMF Therapy Can Help with Bone Health

Numerous studies show that PEMF therapy can improve bone health, prevent fractures from occurring, and help fractures heal if they do occur.

It does this by improving the blood flow that reaches the injured area, thus enabling the body to produce more new and healthy bone cells.

On top of that, PEMF therapy is also known to increase certain substances in our body that are responsible for our bone health.

Because of these benefits, more and more people and clinics worldwide are recognizing the power of PEMF therapy, and are including it in their daily protocols.

Science-backed evidence exists that shows that daily use of PEMFs at correct settings and for the correct amount of time can reduce the risk factors, especially in those people who belong to the high-risk groups we have mentioned above.

One such study examines the effects PEMF therapy has on bone health in postmenopausal women.

 

Study: The Effect of PEMF on Postmenopausal Osteoporosis

This study observed the effects of PEMF therapy on bone formation and remodeling.

Its main focus was to examine the effects PEMF therapy would have on biomechanical markers of bone turnover and bone mineral density in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

The study was conducted in 2001, at the University of Siena, Italy.

The investigators on the study were Nicola Giordano MD, Simone Geraci MD, Emilio Battisti MD, and Marco Fortunato MD, among many others. (1)

This study used a single-blind, randomized, and placebo-controlled method, with 40 outpatients.

Half of these patients received real 100 Hz PEMF stimulation (n=20), while the other half received placebo treatment.

The duration of the study was 90 days, during which the PEMF group received treatment for 60 minutes a day three times a week.

Bone mineral density was measured at the start and end of the study, while the bone metabolism biomechanical markers were measured at the beginning and the end of the study, and during a 1-month follow-up.

 

The results and takeaways:

At the end of the study, when the first assessment was done, the results showed no significant increase in bone mineral density in either group.

However, in the group that received real 100 Hz PEMF stimulation, significant increases in serum procollagen II type I C-terminal propeptide and serum osteocalcin were seen during treatment.

Thirty days after the treatment, these parameters returned to normal.

Thus, these results suggest that PEMF therapy can stimulate osteogenesis.

It is not completely clear how this happens, but one of the theories is that it stimulates osteoblastic activity in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

However, since the parameters dropped after one month of treatment, we can conclude that for best results, it is important to continue daily stimulations of PEMF at 100 Hz frequency for at least 60 minutes.

 

Other Benefits of PEMF Therapy

In addition to being able to work wonders for bone health, PEMF therapy has many both specific and generalized benefits for our body.

Some of them are known from the positive experiences of people who use PEMF devices on a daily basis.

Others are known because of evidence from numerous studies.

In the section below, we’ll focus on some of the most important science-backed PEMF benefits.

 

PEMF Helps with Arthritis

PEMF therapy can greatly help with both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Both of these diseases affect joints, and significantly reduce the quality of life of patients.

The main symptoms these patients feel are pain, swelling, inflammation, skin redness, and so on.

In 1998, a study conducted in India proved this by observing the reactions that patients with rheumatoid arthritis experienced after receiving PEMF stimulation.

All participants in the study reported a significant reduction in pain, swelling, and inflammation after the treatment was completed. (2)

 

Improves Range of Motion

Another type of arthritis that can affect the health of joints is called cervical osteoarthritis.

This disease can be quite aggressive, and usually affects the range of motion of those unlucky enough to develop it.

This decrease in range of motion can vary from mild to very severe.

Luckily, a study published in Clinical Rheumatology showed that PEMF stimulation was able to increase the range of motion in patients suffering from cervical osteoarthritis.

These patients also experienced fewer muscle spasms, as well as less pain and swelling, which proves that PEMF can be an effective treatment for this disease.  (3)

 

Promotes Blood Flow

Poor blood flow can sometimes cause just slight discomfort, but, at others, it can cause severe complications.

It all depends on how seriously we take it, and what measures we take to solve this problem.

One of the options that we have is using PEMF to improve circulation locally.

PEMF therapy causes vasodilation in the affected area, thus allowing more blood to reach the area and bring more oxygen and valuable nutrients.

PEMF can also increase the charge of red blood cells and prevent them from creating clots, which is really important for people at risk of stroke or heart attack. (4)

 

Reduces Migraine Attacks

A migraine attack is a serious condition that usually affects the quality of our lives significantly.

Once one sets in, it is very difficult to ignore it and continue with your daily schedule.

Therefore, every bit of help is important for sufferers to be able to control it and lead a normal life.

A study was conducted in the US in 1999 that investigated the effects of PEMF stimulation on migraines.

The results showed that PEMF could positively affect migraines.

At the end of the study, participants reported that they started experiencing fewer migraine attacks, and that when they did happen, they were much weaker in intensity than before. (5)

 

Accelerates Nerve Repair

People suffering from sciatica often have to deal with frequent onsets of this disruptive health condition.

Anyone who has had it knows how painful and uncomfortable it is.

However, a study conducted on rats in 1993 showed that those rats that received PEMF stimulation experienced much quicker healing of their sciatica injuries.

The mechanism is not fully known yet, but the effects are more than evident. (6)

 

Reduces Pain

PEMF therapy is a powerful method of dealing with pain in a non-invasive way, without risking any side effects.

This cannot be said for traditional painkiller drugs, which usually entail some risks such as overdosing or becoming addicted.

The International Pain Research Institute conducted a study in 1993 that observed how PEMF interacted with pain.

All participants were suffering from pelvic pain, and after receiving PEMF stimulation all of them reported improvement and felt significantly less pain. (7)

 

Relieves Depression

PEMF therapy can also have a very beneficial effect on patients struggling with depression.

The most important uses of PEMF for depression is for patients who do not respond well to antidepressants.

Thus, PEMF is a good secondary treatment of depression.

A study conducted in Denmark showed that a combination of PEMF treatment and antidepressant use caused much more improvement in patients who were initially resistant to antidepressants.

Moreover, significantly fewer side effects of antidepressants were observed during this period. (8)

 

Decreases Diabetic Factors

Patients suffering from diabetes are at risk of developing serious complications of this disease which can further destroy their health.

One such disease is called diabetic polyneuropathy, which affects the nerves and, if left untreated, can lead to serious consequences.

In 2003, a study was completed that showed PEMF therapy can reduce the effects of DPN and improve the function of the affected nerves.

After the study, the patients reported a decrease in symptoms such as numbness and weakness on both sides of the body. (9)

 

Conclusion

Maintaining bone health is one of the biggest favors that we can do for our body when we are young.

As we get older, we will have much better quality of life.

Therefore, it is important to do everything in our power to preserve the health of our bones and our joints.

Unfortunately, realizing that you have a health condition that affects your bones is not easy.

The only way to diagnose osteoporosis is once you experience a bone fracture.

At that time, it’s already too late.

Luckily, PEMF therapy is a non-invasive treatment method that does not cause any side effects and that we can, therefore, use on a daily basis as a preventative measure.

It works on the cellular level to improve our health and promote the growth and regeneration of our bone cells so that our cells can remain healthy and strong for much longer.

If you belong to an osteoporosis risk group, or you just want to experience any of PEMF’s other health benefits, definitely consider adding PEMF stimulation to your daily health routine.