Traditional therapies for pain relief, including massage
and the superficial application of heat and cold, stimulate
the tissues just below the surface of the skin. Similarly,
transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
produces non-pain sensations that block pain signals from
reaching the brain. Another technology may be able to
stimulate tissues deeper in the body for more effective pain
relief and even for healing. Pulsed electromagnetic field
(PEMF) therapy produces an electromagnetic field that
permeates the body, inducing electrochemical changes around and within cells. These changes
create an electrical voltage similar to the one normally generated by the cells during periods of
tissue regrowth and healing. PEMF therapeutic devices were approved by the FDA in 1979 for the
treatment of delayed-union bone fractures and were recently approved for the stimulation of bone
growth in patients after spinal fusion procedures. However, PEMF therapy seems to have similar
effects on other tissues as well; the FDA has approved its use for the treatment of pain and swelling
in soft tissues, which covers a large number of applications in pain medicine. Preliminary studies
suggest that PEMF therapy might even be useful in the regeneration of nerves.