What Is Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy?

John Horton:

Hello, and welcome to another Health Essentials Podcast. I'm John Horton, your host.

Every so often, a health trend comes along with a name that sounds a little intimidating, and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy definitely fits that description. But despite the high-tech label, PEMF is a simple treatment that has become a popular option in wellness circles. It's often used for rest, recovery, and just general self-care.

So, could PEMF be a meaningful addition to your routine, or is it just another fad? That's a question made for functional medicine specialist Melissa Young. Dr. Young is one of the many experts at Cleveland Clinic who visit us weekly to break down health trends. Now, let's go through PEMF letter by letter to find out if it's worth a try.

Welcome back to the podcast, Dr. Young. As is usually the case, we have a fascinating and funky topic to chat about.

Melissa Young, MD:

We do, and thank you for having me back.

John Horton:

Well, this is one I've been really excited to talk with you about because we were excited when the topic even came up in our meeting to chat about. And we're focusing on something called pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, or for short, PEMF. What exactly is that jumble of words in plain English?

Melissa Young, MD:

I think, simplified, it's a noninvasive therapy that delivers this low-frequency, magnetic, gentle pulses to your body and tissues. It's delivered usually either from lying on a mat or applying a pad to a certain part of your body. And it's kind of based on the theory that magnetic fields improve cellular function, circulation in the body. It may help with inflammation, promote healing. So it is very interesting.

John Horton:

Yeah. See, this is why I love when we get into these sorts of topics, because they do sound so just funky, a little offbeat, but we know that there's practical uses for these, and people have been doing it for a long time. The one thing I love with PEMF when I was looking it up, it seems like the roots of this sort of treatment go way back to ancient times and the use of natural magnets.

Melissa Young, MD:

It's actually very cool in looking at this. I mean, it goes back almost probably longer than 2,000 years in India and China, even Greece. And they used magnets to help with healing. They even took some minerals from the earth and created poultices and potions and topical paste to put on people's bodies, so fascinating on how old part of this therapy, the roots go back.

John Horton:

Yeah. So what's driving the new buzz around PEMF and why is it all of a sudden kind of taken off a little bit?

Melissa Young, MD:

So I think it's not necessarily just PEMF, though I agree more recently this does have a lot of buzz, but people now are very health-oriented, very prevention-oriented. They're looking for noninvasive options for wellness, for healing.

People are looking to really get more, when they can, to the root cause of symptoms and health issues instead of just treating symptoms, and so they're looking for different healing modalities that help the body do what it does best. When you help the body, it has a great capacity for healing.

John Horton:

Dr. Young, every time you come in, I feel like we focus a lot on these kinds of preventative measures that folks can take to help with their general wellness, and this seems to kind of fit into that realm.

Melissa Young, MD:

Yeah, I agree with you. And so many of these modalities that we talk about, they're not a replacement for traditional medical care, but I think they have a really interesting place in thinking about overall health, prevention.

We talked about people are just so really focused on how can they work towards optimal health, how can they feel their best? People are thinking more about health span and being as healthy as they can for as long as they can. And I think these types of things often are, and we talk about this, what's safe and may have efficacy and benefit for people.

John Horton:

Well, so let's get into a little bit about how PEMF treatment can be used and what sort of results folks can get with that.

Melissa Young, MD:

So, some of the literature that I was looking at, in the literature, there's some literature, medical literature, but certainly more studies are needed, but it appears that it may help promote recovery after exercise or minor sports injuries. Some of the history was interesting that we had talked about, how this was shown years ago to really help in bone fractures that weren't healing well. And that's not necessarily what I would have patients use it for or people use it for currently, but it is interesting, that benefit.

But promoting recovery after sports injuries, exercise, seems to be quite helpful in pain, especially osteoarthritis, knee pain, back pain. Also, just general pain, achiness, stiffness, people seem to be getting benefit.

May help with wound healing after surgery and post-recovery. And then we always come back to ... may be helpful in stress and moderating the stress response.

John Horton:

Yeah. You had mentioned the bone healing and that. It sounds so wild to think that you can just use this electromagnetic therapy and it's going to help your bones heal. But it seems like this is an FDA-approved treatment, and it seems like if people are having issues, that bone's just not healing up right, somehow the way that this works, it just makes the cells a little more active and it just kind of helps that bone heal a little better.

Melissa Young, MD:

Yeah, and I think it might have some to do with increased circulation, oxygenation, bringing healing substances into the area, perhaps helping move waste out of the cells. So probably a lot of different ways that it's benefiting. And it's not for the average person who has a bone fracture.

John Horton:

Right. This isn't what you do when you snap your leg. You don't just get the mat out and say, "I'm going to fix it."

Melissa Young, MD:

Exactly. Yeah. And for this, it's really being used clinically where the bones aren't healing properly. But it's just so interesting that the use of magnetic fields can have that benefit.

John Horton:

Yeah. Yeah. You had mentioned the arthritis pain, too, and I read a really neat study they did on people who had knee pain and they used it and they said they felt better, but then when they went through all the stuff, they didn't see giant improvements in everything.

So it could be a placebo effect. It might be doing something, but I guess the reality is you kind of do this treatment, which is, like you said, pretty noninvasive, it's just a little bit of time. You let this mat do its thing, and they felt better, and that's a win.

Melissa Young, MD:

It's always a win. And a placebo effect is a positive effect, so we will take that. I think there could be a little bit of both. I do think that when we are bringing more blood flow to areas, getting the cells more nourishment, helping them get rid of waste products, decreasing inflammation, maybe decreasing swelling, we're going to see symptomatic benefit.

And that also may allow people to be more active or get through physical therapy better to, say, strengthen the muscles around the knees, which help with stability. So it's probably multilayered.

John Horton:

Yeah. I mean, whatever works, hey, do it.

Melissa Young, MD:

As long as it's not harmful, absolutely.

John Horton:

Yeah. Yeah. So what can someone expect if they do this sort of therapy? What does PEMF feel like when it's on? What's the experience going to be like?

Melissa Young, MD:

Sure. So you wear kind of normal clothing, but comfortable clothing. It's really typically painless, again, noninvasive. You're going to be lying on a mat or you may have a pad that's put, say, just on the knee. You may feel a little warm sensation of warmth or even a minor pulsing sensation, but a lot of people really don't feel anything at all.

Sessions typically last about 20 to 40 minutes. I think, from what I was reading, you'll potentially get benefit from one treatment, but if you have more consistent sessions, you might have more benefit or lasting benefit. But it's really, again, we go back ... you're lying down, you have some relaxation, but very easy, very relaxing, painless modality.

John Horton:

Yeah. And as we talk about all the time, sometimes I feel like just slowing down for a little bit has a huge impact on your body and how it feels because we're just run, run, run all the time.

Melissa Young, MD:

We are. We all need to take more time and be instead of do. And so a lot of these different modalities that we talk about, and they do have many layers of physiological benefit, but when you are calming the nervous system, calming that stress response, that's going to be, in my opinion, synergistic to any additional benefits that we've been talking about.

John Horton:

Yeah. Can you do PEMF every day? I mean, can you just be on this mat constantly? Where's the line here?

Melissa Young, MD:

I'm not sure we have all that information. I'm not sure. Yeah, we don't want to be on it constantly. I do have patients who use it frequently, maybe for shorter periods of time for the relaxation, for aches and pains, but I didn't see, in the literature or in my readings, any contraindications in terms of use.

But just common sense. I would say you don't want to spend an hour or 2 every day on this. You want to use it, again, maybe 20 minutes a couple of times a week. I think there shouldn't be any problems with using it daily, but use it in the right sort of timeframe.

John Horton:

Yeah. Now, that all sounds simple enough, but let's talk about any risks that might be tied to PEMF therapy because there's always some little things there that you have to be aware of or maybe groups that should avoid it. Where would that fall with this sort of treatment?

Melissa Young, MD:

Sure. So, generally very safe, but certain groups of people really need to avoid it. So anyone with seizure disorder, this would not be appropriate therapy. You want to avoid this in pregnancy since we don't know how that might affect the fetus. And then anyone with implantable devices — a pacemaker, an insulin pump, or any other implantable devices — would not want to use this.

John Horton:

That kind of makes sense.

Melissa Young, MD:

Yeah.

John Horton:

And it sounds like if you have any sort of condition that you're being treated for, it's always a good idea to talk with your doc and say, "Hey, I might want to give this a shot. Would it cause any issues?"

Melissa Young, MD:

I agree with you. And some of these things may not always be in the purview of your primary care doc, but that's the best place to start. And then often functional integrative medicine physicians have a lot more experience and can be a good guide as well.

John Horton:

Yeah. So if someone is PEMF-curious and they want to give it a try, what's the best way to approach that?

Melissa Young, MD:

So I always say I like people to try it out first before they think of perhaps getting a mat or a pad for home. There's lots of clinics now in most metropolitan and suburban areas that offer a lot of the different things that we've been talking about, but PEMF. And so I would look for them and do a session.

They're usually not terribly expensive. You do a session, see how you feel, see if you find it helpful, or do a couple.

And then more and more people are considering getting a mat or a pad for home for ease. And in the long run, if it is helpful to you, it's cheaper to have one at home.

John Horton:

Yeah. Now, I know you had mentioned that you've had patients who have talked with you and said that they've done this, they use it, and it seems like they feel like they get pretty good results.

Melissa Young, MD:

I have. So it's one of those things, I haven't tried this yet, so I may after our conversation here. But I have patients who've been using the mats. And for some of the things that we've talked about, especially pain and muscle and sports recovery, they seem to have good benefits.

So, everyone's going to be different. If it speaks to you, it's worth trying, and, again, generally quite safe with those parameters. And so, yeah, I think there's so many things here that for people who have chronic issues, we talked about overall health, too, but can be helpful.

John Horton:

Yeah. I mean, as we talk about all the time on here, the body is really a mystery.

Melissa Young, MD:

It is.

John Horton:

As much as we know about it, there's still a lot that's kind of unexplained. And I feel like when you get into that chronic pain situation or things like that, a lot of times there's not an easy answer. So if something simple like this kind of gets rid of that hurt, that pain, lets you go out and do the things you want to do, it's worth giving it a shot and seeing if you get results.

Melissa Young, MD:

I agree. And I love that we have these discussions, as long as you're the right candidate and a lot of these therapies are generally quite safe. If they give people relief or, for some of our athletes, a little bit of an edge, I mean, it's great that we're seeing more of these options.

John Horton:

Yeah. It always seems like, though, the key is not to set your expectations too high and just look that maybe this can be that one little extra thing that kind of helps you out, and it's not a substitute for any sort of broader treatment.

Melissa Young, MD:

Perfectly said. Thank you.

John Horton:

You've been training me a long time here, so I feel like I've learned so much doing this podcast and I just keep soaking in your knowledge.

Melissa Young, MD:

Well, it's so enjoyable spending time and talking about these things, and so I appreciate that. Thank you.

John Horton:

Well, Dr. Young, we will be finding some more cool health trends sort of things to talk about in the future here. And without a doubt, you'll be the one we ask to come in and make them make sense for us.

Melissa Young, MD:

I look forward to it. Thank you so much.

John Horton:

Thank you. Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy might sound a little space-age, but at its core, PEMF is just another item in the wellness toolbox that may help you relax, recover, and recharge. But while it sounds interesting, it's not essential, either, and it's definitely not a replacement for prescribed treatments.

If you liked what you heard today, please hit the subscribe button and leave a comment to share your thoughts. Until next time, be well.