<p>Electromagnetic Field Therapy: A Rehabilitative Perspective in the Management of Musculoskeletal Pain – A Systematic Review</p>

Abstract

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) provide a non-invasive, safe, and easy method to treat pain with respect to musculoskeletal diseases. The purpose of this systematic review was to describe the use of electromagnetic therapy in the rehabilitation field by investigating the efficacy in acute and chronic pain in the musculoskeletal disorders. A database search was conducted using the following resources: PubMed, Cochrane, PEDro, SCOPUS, and WoS. The following MESH terms were used: [Electromagnetic field AND/OR Rehabilitation], [Electromagnetic field AND/OR Pain], [Pulsed Magnetic field AND/OR Rehabilitation] and [Pulsed Magnetic field AND/OR Pain], [Pulsed Electromagnetic field AND/OR Rehabilitation] and [Pulsed Electromagnetic field AND/OR Pain], per the guidelines of the PRISMA statement. Articles published between January 1, 2009 andDecember 31, 2018 were included as assessment of musculoskeletal pain conditions, randomized clinical trial including crossover and prospective design studies, full English text available, population age > 18 years; instead were excluded neurological randomized clinical trials, transcranial magnetic stimulation application, neuropathic pain, animal/in vitro studies, and articles without English abstract or English full text. Three independent investigators (AMC, NG, and LP) retrieved all the information. Twenty-one RTC (N=21) were considered for the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The results showed as pulsed magnetic fields at low intensity and frequency (from 1 Hz up to 100 Hz) are commonly used with efficacy in resolving musculoskeletal pain. EMFs therapy is a well tolerated, effective with no negative side effects, which can be integrated with rehabilitation for the treatment of chronic and acute pain in musculoskeletal diseases, but further studies are needed to examine the use of more standardized protocols.

Evaluation of the Analgesic Efficacy of a Bioelectronic Device in Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain with Neuropathic Component. A Randomized Trial

“…PEMS therapy has been investigated in many studies searching for its effects in alleviating acute and chronic pain in musculoskeletal disorders [52]. These conditions include low back pain with different etiologies, such as generalized low back pain [33]; acute non-specific low back pain [21]; discogenic lumbar radiculopathy [34], and chronic low back pain [53].…”

“…Overall, it can be suggested that PEMS greatly reduces the pain intensity in low back patients when used alone, independently of the low back pain condition. However, some studies found no additional benefits [36,52] when added to other standard therapies such as standard physiotherapy [21] or analgesic therapy [33], probably due to the presence of a predominant neuropathic component in the patients studied. In our study, all patients followed the usual pharmacological treatment for their painful condition (first and second step of the treatment guidelines: antiepileptics, antidepressants, weak opioids), having had poor analgesic effects.…”

HEK293 cell response to static magnetic fields via the radical pair mechanism may explain therapeutic effects of pulsed electromagnetic fields

“… 17 , 18 , 37 – 39 ]. This is also true for resolution of chronic and acute pain, for which PEMF therapy has been proven effective, and which has the great advantage that there are no potential negative side effects as caused by pharmaceutical remedies [ 40 ]. Since the Radical Pair Mechanism predicts only modest changes in concentrations of ROS on theoretical grounds, a means of inducing transient small increases in cellular ROS at will by appropriately altering the geomagnetic field provides a powerful paradigm for the effectiveness of PEMF devices in therapy.…”

Radiobiological effects and medical applications of non-ionizing radiation

“…They also provides non– invasive method to treat injury, Gauss or micro- Tesla instrument which is a pulsed electromagnetic fields with low frequency and intensity range, increases oxygenation to blood, improve circulation and cell metabolism, improve function pain and fatigue from fibromyalgia ( Legros et al, 2015 , Paolucci et al, 2020 ).…”