Inflammation is the body’s natural response to harmful or irritating stimuli. When something irritates the body, like an injury or foreign germs, the body’s defense mechanisms go into overdrive to fight the invaders and heal the body. However, inflammation, especially chronic inflammation, can damage tissues and organ systems over time.
Reducing inflammation and improving circulation are two key elements that promote better health and wellness by boosting oxygen and nutrient delivery to tissues, facilitating faster healing and wound recovery, and reducing damage to cells and organs. Advances in technology, particularly in PEMF treatment, have now been shown to accelerate healing by increasing blood flow and reducing inflammation and swelling.
What Is PEMF Therapy?
PEMF, or pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, is a therapeutic pain management option that utilizes a form of electromagnetism to deliver targeted electromagnetic pulses to points on the body. Electromagnetic pulses help facilitate healing by stimulating cells in the body.
The earth emits an electromagnetic field. Our brain, heart, and muscles also utilize electromagnetism. It is an essential aspect of numerous biological processes in the human body. One study from Austria suggests using PEMF therapy to stimulate cells can help tissue heal and regenerate, enhance the body’s natural healing process, and reduce pain. However, there may be additional benefits to adding PEMF therapy to a patient’s health and wellness routine.
Does PEMF Therapy Improve Circulation and Reduce Inflammation?
Poor circulation and excess inflammation are the enemies of the healing process. In addition to promoting natural healing and pain relief, a recent study from researchers at Wake Forest suggests that PEMF therapy may reduce inflammation, promote better blood flow and circulation, and improve tissue regeneration. PEMF helps increase circulation to the site of a wound or injury. PEMF therapy also increases the production of nitric oxide, a vasodilator. Vasodilators are substances that relax and expand blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more easily. Better blood flow means more oxygen and nutrients reach the injury site, helping the cells heal more quickly and efficiently.
Inflammation and swelling can naturally reduce healthy blood flow to cells. Although inflammation is a natural immune response to an illness or injury, it can stall tissue regeneration and healing when the immune system cannot correctly balance its immune response. Chronic inflammation is particularly dangerous and can cause long-term damage to cells and organs. Chronic inflammation occurs when the body responds to an injury or illness. Still, instead of shutting off the response once healed, inflammatory triggers continue, throwing off the body’s natural balance and flooding the body with proteins called cytokines.
Cytokines are proteins used by the body as chemical messengers. These proteins signal immune cells to respond to an illness, injury, or other trauma. While these proteins are essential for allowing your body to mount a defense, too many cytokines can cause excess inflammation and autoimmune disorders.
PEMF therapy seems to help regulate the signaling mechanisms involved in the body’s inflammatory response system, helping to reduce harmful swelling and inflammation at the wound or injury site. It may regulate cytokine secretion, reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines and stabilizing the number of anti-inflammatory cytokines. By helping to correct cellular dysfunction, PEMF stabilizes the body’s inflammatory response and helps prevent chronic or destructive consequences. It also promotes overall tissue health and stability and accelerates the natural healing process more effectively.
Contact Our Office to Discuss Whether PEMF Therapy Can Help You
PEMF therapy has numerous beneficial implications in wound healing and injury recovery. If you want to learn more about how PEMF therapy can decrease pain, reduce inflammation, and promote better circulation, the Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine team can help. We provide comprehensive and compassionate care, managing spine, sports, and musculoskeletal treatment for those needing relief. Contact our office today to schedule an appointment.