Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) therapy is a gentle, non-invasive treatment that uses electromagnetic energy to help your body heal faster. Healthcare providers use this technology as part of a complete care plan for people looking for alternatives to surgery or medications. Here’s what you can expect from this treatment option.
How Does PEMF Help Your Cells Heal?
PEMF sends soft pulses of electromagnetic energy deep into your tissues, encouraging your cells to get to work repairing themselves. Here’s what happens inside your body:
- Cell Activation: The pulses open tiny channels in your cell membranes, letting calcium ions flow in. These calcium ions act like messengers, telling your cells to start healing—this activation helps stimulate cell metabolism, growth, and inflammation response.
- Better Blood Flow: This process also helps your body produce nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels, improves circulation, and reduces swelling.
- Boosting Repair Signals: Your cells then produce growth factors that help new tissue grow and damaged areas heal faster. PEMF has helped influence gene expression, which improves your body’s natural tissue repair and inflammation resolution.
- Energy Support: PEMF helps your cells create more energy, so they can work better and recover more quickly.
All in all, PEMF therapy helps your body heal naturally, without drugs or surgery.
What Health Issues Can PEMF Help With?
PEMF can help alleviate pain, swelling, or slow healing related to issues like back and joint pain. The treatment also helps patients suffering from arthritis, muscle strains, or chronic back issues by calming their nerves and reducing inflammation.
The treatment also helps wounds like surgical sites, ulcers, and pressure sores heal more quickly. For nerve problems, PEMF treatment can reduce symptoms like numbness or tingling from nerve damage. And if you deal with chronic conditions, PEMF can help alleviate your ongoing fatigue or inflammation from issues like fibromyalgia, or repair your broken bones and soft tissue injuries by encouraging tissue growth.
What Happens During a PEMF Treatment?
At Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, we make sure your PEMF sessions are comfortable and tailored to you:
- How Long: Each session usually lasts 15 to 30 minutes. You’ll feel gentle pulses but no pain.
- How Often: For new injuries, our physicians might recommend daily sessions for a week or two. For longer-term issues, they may advise treatments two or three times a week over several weeks.
- What to Expect: Many of our patients have reported less pain after just a few sessions, with healing improvements showing over a month or so.
Throughout your entire PEMF treatment, we help you keep track of your progress and adjust your treatment as needed.
Is PEMF Therapy Safe and Are There Any Side Effects?
The medical field considers PEMF therapy to be safe for most people when administered by trained professionals. The treatment is non-invasive and does not involve medications or injections, so it carries a low risk of serious side effects.
In rare instances, some individuals may notice temporary mild discomfort or tingling in the treated area, but these effects typically resolve quickly.
However, PEMF therapy may not be suitable for everyone—for example, if you have pacemakers or certain implanted devices, you should avoid this treatment.
How Do Doctors Use PEMF Alongside Other Treatments?
Your treating physician should view PEMF as just one part of your holistic care plan. For instance, you can combine PEMF with medical massage to relax tight muscles and acupuncture to help restore your balance and energy flow.
In other scenarios, after an acute injury, PEMF can speed up your healing while physical therapy gets you moving again comfortably. Our team here at Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine also offers yoga and lifestyle advice to support your overall health and prevent future problems. This way, you get a well-rounded approach that helps you feel better and stay well longer.
Ready to Try PEMF Therapy With Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine?
PEMF therapy helps your body heal naturally, easing pain and speeding recovery without surgery or drugs. At Long Island Spine Rehabilitation Medicine, our team can use PEMF therapy as part of a treatment plan to get you back on your feet sooner. Visit us online to schedule your first visit, and let us help you get back to feeling your best.