Neuropathy affects around 20 million people in the United States alone.
Its causes are often hard to identify, and most often it is a sign of another underlying medical condition.
Neuropathy, also known as peripheral neuropathy, affects the peripheral nerves, causing sensations of hot, cold, tingling, numbness, and so on.
The treatment usually relies on strong medication to treat the symptoms, or on identifying the underlying cause.
In many cases, these approaches are not completely successful, so it is necessary to find new ones.
One such is PEMF therapy, which offers quick relief from these symptoms without any unwanted consequences or side effects.
Neuropathy is the disease of the peripheral nerves.
These nerves branch from the brain and the spinal cord, and send messages from these central nerves to the peripheral parts of the body.
Neuropathy can affect different nerves in all parts of the body, so its symptoms can vary vastly from one person to another.
It can affect the motor nerves, autonomic nerves, and sensory nerves.
Neuropathy can also affect only one nerve, such as in facial palsy, or it can affect many nerves at the same time.
People who suffer from diabetes have a much higher chance of developing neuropathy, but there are other risk groups, as well.
Symptoms vary according to which type of nerve(s) is/are affected by neuropathy, and in which part of the body.
Symptoms of sensory neuropathy are tingling and numbness, increased pain, pins, and needles, loss of coordination, difficulties in detecting warm or cold, and/or intense pain that can be more severe at night.
Sensory neuropathy can also lead to foot ulcers and gangrene.
Motor neuropathy affects different muscles in our body.
Its symptoms usually include muscle weakness, inability to perform delicate motor tasks (such as buttoning a shirt), muscle wasting, muscle paralysis, and/or muscle twitching.
In the event autonomic nerves are affected, the symptoms are problems with heat intolerance, sweating, abnormal blood pressure, bowel and bladder problems, and dizziness.
Many neuropathies are classified as idiopathic, which means that their cause is unknown.
However, patients with diabetes have a higher risk of developing it, because of their excess blood sugar that damages the nerves.
Other diseases that may lead to neuropathy include:
Some additional causes are:
The treatment of neuropathy cannot be complete without discovering the underlying cause.
If the cause is not identified, only the symptoms can be targeted and controlled.
In the case of diabetic neuropathy, we should regulate the high levels of blood sugar, in order to prevent further nerve damage.
Medications are used to relieve pain, burning sensations, numbness, tingling, and other symptoms.
Some alternative treatments include wearing cotton that does not irritate the skin, using warm or cold packs, covering sensitive areas with a soft wound dressing, and PEMF therapy.
Numerous studies have proven that PEMF therapy is an efficient form of treatment of neuropathy.
It effectively controls the symptoms, but it can also treat some underlying causes.
Let’s take a closer look at the studies and their implications.
PEMF therapy works on the most basic, or cellular, level.
It benefits all cells in our body, including nerve cells.
Nerve cells work by firing electrical signals to the brain, and receiving electrical signals from the brain and the spinal cord.
PEMF therapy works by inducing low-frequency currents, which can be beneficial when the electrical firings in the nerves are abnormal.
PEMF therapy can depolarize, hyperpolarize, and repolarize neurons, which can change the way they function and affect the symptoms, including pain.
By directing PEMF stimulation at the affected area of the body, we promote blood flow to the area; this, in turn, accelerates nerve repair and might remove any toxins that have accumulated there and may be causing the neuropathy.
PEMF therapy for neuropathy does not have to be used for a long time, and the frequencies at which it is administered should be quite low, which means that very beneficial effects can be achieved even with weaker, home devices.
The recommended time is between 30 minutes and 1 hour a day, which will be enough to achieve positive results.
In a study conducted in 2009, at the Guru Nanak Dev University and Medical College, Amritsar, India, a group of researchers tried to find out how efficient PEMF therapy was for symptoms of diabetic polyneuropathy.
The study was led by Vinay Graak, B. S. Bal, Sarika Chaudhary, and J. S. Sandhu. (1)
In the study, frequencies of 600 and 800 Hz were used, and their effects on diabetic polyneuropathy were compared.
The study was a randomized and controlled trial.
Thirty patients participated in the study, aged 40 to 68, with varying stages of diabetic polyneuropathy.
They were split into 3 groups, each of 10 subjects.
Groups 1 and 2 were treated with PEMF stimulation of 600 and 800 Hz for 30 minutes a day for 12 days total.
The third group served as a control, and continued receiving their usual therapy.
The motor nerve conduction parameters (amplitude, distal latency, nerve conduction velocity) and pain were assessed both before and after the study.
In order to analyze data, both related and unrelated t-tests were used.
The results of the study showed that there was a significant reduction in pain, and improvement in nerve conduction velocity and distal latency, in groups 1 and 2.
Therefore, the scientists concluded that low-frequency PEMF therapy can be used as an efficient form of treatment of pain caused by diabetic polyneuropathy, as well as a way to slow down the progression of the disease.
As you can see, the duration does not have to be long, and the frequencies may be low.
Therefore, anyone can allocate the required time to reap the benefits of PEMF.
Moreover, the scientists reported no side effects occurring during the study, so PEMF therapy, as suspected, is completely safe to use for this health condition.
PEMF therapy can not only help treat the symptoms of neuropathy, but numerous other diseases, as well.
Therefore, PEMF therapy can be an efficient way of resolving the cause of neuropathy in some cases, and provide permanent relief from this disease.
Just as PEMF works on the cellular level for nerve cells, it can provide its benefits to other cells in other organs and parts of the body.
PEMF therapy has not only physical benefits for our health, but psychological, as well, since it can help us deal with depression, anxiety, and stress.
Let’s see exactly when we can use PEMF and expect positive results.
Alzheimer’s disease usually affects the elderly, and it is the most common form of dementia.
It can significantly decrease the quality of life of an affected person, and prevent the person from functioning on their own.
Researchers at the University of Toronto conducted a study in 2010 that examined whether PEMF therapy could be used to prevent Alzheimer’s disease in people with a high risk of developing it, or slow down the disease in those who suffer from it.
The results were quite encouraging, and proved that PEMF therapy could do both. (2)
The increased eye pressure caused by glaucoma can wreak havoc on our eyes.
It puts excess pressure on the optic nerve, which can lead either to decreased vision, or to a complete loss of it if the disease is left untreated.
In 1990, a study was conducted in Russia that investigated the use of PEMF therapy on glaucoma.
The results showed that just 7 minutes of PEMF stimulation a day successfully reduced both the eye pressure, and the pressure on the optic nerve. (3)
Atrial fibrillation is a disease that affects the two upper chambers of the heart, where the sinus code is located.
That is our natural pacemaker, and it regulates the number and regularity of heartbeats.
When it does not work well, we experience heart palpitations, which can be very dangerous.
Luckily, researchers from America and China decided to test how PEMF therapy affects the sinus code, and whether it can regulate atrial fibrillation.
The answer was yes, since the results showed that PEMF therapy can stabilize the sinus code and keep our heartbeats in check. (4)
Patients with scleroderma experienced an increased production of collagen, which causes their skin to become tight and hard, and to break and cause ulcers.
It progresses quickly, and it can affect one or multiple parts of the body.
Dr. Pawluk, who dedicates a lot of his time to PEMF research, discovered that PEMF therapy is very beneficial for scleroderma.
In his study, 95% of patients experienced significant improvement in symptoms.(5)
Multiple sclerosis affects our body’s nerves, and its symptoms can occur in any part of the body.
In the beginning, the symptoms are mild, sometimes even unnoticeable, but they soon begin to progress.
Therefore, it is important to keep the disease in check, and to stop it from developing further.
In 2003, a study was conducted that had a goal of finding out whether PEMF therapy could improve quality of life and decrease fatigue levels in patients with multiple sclerosis.
The results showed that PEMF therapy was effective in both areas, and that it can be used for multiple sclerosis with positive results. (6)
PEMF therapy can be an efficient substitute for harmful painkillers.
Painkillers are useful, especially for acute and intense pain, and they should not be disregarded completely.
However, taking them long term may be detrimental to one’s health.
In 1993, a study was conducted at the International Pain Research Institute that proved that PEMF therapy could reduce the levels of pain in patients experiencing pelvic pain.
However, PEMF therapy is beneficial for other forms of chronic and acute pain, as well. (7)
A common complication of diabetes is wounds that take very long to heal.
This can happen for other reasons, as well, when our body is incapable of healing a wound quickly on its own.
This raises the chances of serious infections.
In 2014, a study was conducted in Hong Kong that used as subjects rats with diabetes.
The goal of the study was to see whether PEMF stimulation could accelerate wound healing in these rats.
The results were positive and encouraging, and showed that rats treated with PEMF therapy experienced much faster wound healing compared to the controls. (8)
In sum, the studies available online, including the one that we used for reference for this article, clearly show that PEMF therapy is very beneficial for different types of neuropathy.
The secret behind these benefits lies in the fact that PEMF therapy and our nerves work in a very similar way.
They use a low-frequency electrical current to conduct signals, which has different effects on the body.
By using PEMF therapy for neuropathy, we can change the electrical impulses that our central nervous system fires toward the peripheral nerves and vice versa, and bring them back to normal.
Moreover, by affecting other types of cells, PEMF therapy can potentially target the core cause of the neuropathy even if the patient is not aware of what that is.
It also improves blood flow, which can prevent further damage of the nerves if that damage is caused by harmful agents in the blood.
Not only that, but PEMF therapy has many other health benefits, both physical and psychological, and it can be beneficial for everyone.
You can use it not just for yourself, but you also on your pets and plants, to help them with any issues that they might have.
Richard Hoover is a PEMF expert and content contributor to PEMF Advisor. With a bachelor’s degree in physics and multiple certifications in natural health programs, he is one of the best PEMF experts around.
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