Evaluation of the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic field in the management of patients with diabetic polyneuropathy

Abstract

AIM:The study was carried out to evaluate and compare the effect of low power, low frequency pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) of 600 and 800 Hz, respectively, in management of patients with diabetic polyneuropathy.SETTINGS AND DESIGNS:The study was a randomized controlled trial performed in Guru Nanak Dev University and Medical College, Amritsar, India with different subject experimental design.MATERIALS AND METHODS:Thirty subjects within an age group of 40–68 years with diabetic polyneuropathy stages N1a, N1b, N2a were randomly allocated to groups 1, 2, 3 with 10 subjects in each. Group 1 and 2 were treated with low power 600 and 800-Hz PEMF for 30 min for 12 consecutive days. Group 3 served as control on usual medical treatment of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN). The subjects with neuropathy due to any cause other than diabetes were excluded. The pain and motor nerve conduction parameters (distal latency, amplitude, nerve conduction velocity) were assessed before and after treatment.STATISTICAL ANALYSIS:Related t-test and unrelated t-test were used for data analysis.RESULTS:Significant reduction in pain and statistically significant (P<0.05) improvement in distal latency and nerve conduction velocity were seen in experimental group 1 and 2.CONCLUSIONS:Low-frequency PEMF can be used as an adjunct in reducing neuropathic pain as well as for retarding the progression of neuropathy in a short span of time.

Effect of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy on experimental pain: A double-blind, randomized study in healthy young adults

“…Positive results have been reported in various pain disorders, including inflammatory and post-operative pain conditions (Binder et al 1984;Cheing et al 2005;Foley-Nolan et al 1992;Heden and Pilla 2008;Uzunca et al 2007). More contradictory findings have been observed for painful diabetic polyneuropathy, with some authors showing positive (Graak et al 2009;Musaev et al 2003) and others showing negative (Weintraub et al 2009;Wrobel et al 2008) results. Contradictory findings have also been reported for chronic pain conditions.…”

The influence of spatial pulsed magnetic field application on neuropathic pain after tibial nerve transection in rat

“…The development of various technologies in physical medicine results from seeking for alternative and complementary, non-pharmacological methods of treatment (Cruccu et al, 2007;Guastella et al, 2008). Among them the magnetic field therapy plays a very important role (Bryl et al, 2006;Graak et al, 2009;Jędrzejewski et al, 2002;Sieroń and Glinka, 2002).The results of previous research concerning the analgetic effects of both variable and static magnetic fields do not give a definite answer about their effectiveness. Biological actions of magnetic fields are a consequence of three basic effects: electrodynamic, magnetomechanic and ion cyclotron resonance (Jędrzejewski et al, 2002;Sieroń and Glinka, 2002).…”

Comparative and Mixture Effect of Cynodon Dactylon, ElectroMagnetic Field and Insulin on Diabetic Mouse

“…There are many evidences supporting the hypoglycemic ability of magnetic field exposure, but the optimum frequency and exposure time remain unclear (17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Öcal et al (10) investigated the effect of 5mT and 8mT on healthy and diabetic rats for the duration of 165 minutes for three weeks.…”