This is Part Three in a series on PEMF or Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy, which is a modality we are pleased to offer in addition to Frequency Specific Microcurrent right here at The Healing Collective.



WHAT IS PEMF?

Click here to find our introductory post on PEMF.

Please Note: PEMF and associated therapies do not claim to diagnose, treat or cure any condition or disease.

WHEN DID PEMF ORIGINATE?

While PEMF Therapy is currently experiencing tremendous growth and its use is rapidly expanding, it is far from new.

This technology can be traced back to as early as the discovery of "animal electricity" at the end of the 1700s, and less sophisticated magnetic therapies have been utilized by ancient civilizations dating back to as long ago as 4000 BCE.

By the middle of the 19th century, electric needle therapy was commonplace in the medical treatment of slow-healing fractures:

"Modern use of energy fields to stimulate bone repair actually began ... at the end of the eighteenth century. By the mid-1800s, the preferred method for treating slow-healing fractures was to pass electricity through needles surgically implanted in the fracture region. The technique was banished from medical practice early in the 1900s."

–James L. Oschman, PhD Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis

As quoted by Dr. Oschman above, PEMF therapy has had a rather debated and thus broken trajectory throughout its long history. There was a significant period of time in the United States when this and related therapies (including not only electric medicine, but also herbalism, osteopathy, and homeopathy) were banned from use after the publication of the 1910 Flexner Report, which drastically changed the American medical system, biasing medical education toward biochemical and surgical models of care.

"American medicine profited immeasurably from the scientific advances that this [post-Flexner] system allowed, but ... [it also] created an imbalance in the art and science of medicine" (Duffy 2011). Physicians were jailed for utilizing electrotherapeutic modalities, institutions were closed down, and the field of electric medicine was stunted (Flexner 1910; Beck 2004).

Through the 1930s, there was a diverse and rich electric medicine presence in, with a variety of modalities being invented, tested, and used in medical care, and with its fair share of controversy to boot. Claims for cures of cancer and mental health illness abounded and the research methods were questioned (see the below timeline for some examples). Tesla's coil and related research and inventions are perhaps one of the more famous forms of PEMF that emerged during this time period. By 1935, electric medicine in the US was largely replaced by what was purported as more evidence-based pharmaceutical and surgical interventions.

"It is fascinating to follow the saga of how the energetic approach to bone healing was discovered, accepted as a therapy, rejected, and reinstated by the medical community."

 –James L. Oschman, PhD Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis

A resurgence of research in the 1960s, particularly related to fracture and bone healing, documented successes, lack of side effects, and energy field mechanisms that led to the FDA's approval for very specific uses: "Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy has been approved by the FDA for treatment of fracture non-unions and for the enhancement of bone formation after lumbar and cervical spine fusion surgery" (Huegel et al, 2018). See also Bassett 1974, 1977, 1978; Oschman 2016; FDA 2020.

However, beyond fractures and bone healing, claims to the efficacy of PEMF are not currently substantiated by the FDA and are even subject to legal proceedings. Hence the disclaimer at the start of this post, and the careful languaging around most PEMF distributors' descriptions of what this modality can be used for.

NASA has also investigated the effects of electromagnetic fields on the human organism and cultured cells. The Space Administration has studied the use of PEMF technology to mitigate the myriad health challenges associated with space travel and microgravity conditions. A 2003 paper investigated the therapeutic effects of time-varying electromagnetic fields (TVEMF) to propagate neural progenitor cells, where an electrode or coil emitted an electromagnetic field into a culture medium. The paper states "In both experimental configurations, the proliferation rate of the TVEMF cells was 2.5 to 4.0 times the rate of the non-waveform cells. Each of the experimental embodiments resulted in similar molecular genetic changes regarding the growth potential of the tissues" (Goodwin et al, 2003). Goodwin and others' research resulted in multiple patents of these electromagnetic field devices that are currently in use. In other NASA reports PEMF technology is cited as an effective countermeasure for bone loss and atrophy (Luttges 1989, Bryerly et al, 2005).

"Development of new systems is being made easier in the US by the recently updated FDA position, allowing PEMF systems to be marketed without FDA approval if their primary purpose is for the management of wellness."

–Dr. William Pawluk, MD

Today we enjoy the freedom to utilize these PEMF devices, which come in many forms, and while the body of evidence continues to grow, there is still much research to be done to quantify the effects and applications of PEMF therapies. If you are interested in learning more about the published and emerging research as well as the conditions being investigated, stay tuned for our next post in this series on PEMF.

A BRIEF MAGNETISM & PEMF TIMELINE

• 4000 BCE - People in the Indus Valley's use of lodestones attributed to the treatment of disease (note: lodestones, which are magnetized magnetite (iron oxide), are an example of a magnetic modality, not pulsed electromagnetic fields as in our discussion; however, these examples speak to the ancient use of magnets therapeutically)
• 2000 BCE - physicians in China developed written protocols for using lodestones on acupuncture points, as described in “The Yellow Emperor’s Book of Internal Medicine.”
• Egyptian physicians also used lodestones. There are tales of Cleopatra sleeping on a lodestone bed or wearing a lodestone headband over her third eye center with the intent to preserve her youth.
• ~400 BCE - The Grecian Hippocrates was reported to use magnets for pain mitigation; headaches in his healing centers were treated with lodestones. Fun fact: magnet refers to the area of Magnesia in Central Greece where lodestones were historically obtained.
• 1000 CE - Chinese scientists around the year 1000 used lodestones to magnetize iron; these magnetized stones pointed south if floated in a bowl of water; by 1100, these became the first magnetic compasses.
• Late 1700 - Franz Mesmer coined 'animal magnetism' and developed a theory based off of the concept that there is a natural transference of energy between all things.
• 1800s - Michael Faraday studied electromagnetism, discovered electromagnetic induction, discovered diamagnetism, discovered electrolysis, created the first electromagnetic rotational device which would eventually lead to electric motors. Faraday established through his work and research that a changing magnetic field produces an electric field. “Faraday’s Law” later became one of the four Maxwell equations. Faraday proposed the concept of electromagnetic fields defined as forces extending into the space around a conductor.
• Mid 1800s - Slow-to-heal fractures were routinely healed by surgically implanting needles around the fracture site and pulsing electricity through the area.
• Late 1800s - Russian engineer Georges Lakhovsky hypothesized that each cell has its own frequency, oscillating at a specific amplitude. Lakhovsky developed a Multiple Wave Oscillator or Radio-Cellulo-Oscillator, which produced a wide range of therapeutic frequencies, from extremely low frequencies (ELF) to gigahertz (GHz) radio waves.
• 1890s - American Electro-Therapeutic Association conducted annual conferences on the therapeutic use of electricity and electrical devices by physicians on ailing patients.



• 1890s - Nicola Tesla's inventions included what would be termed the Tesla Coil, with implications as far reaching as power generation to human tissue healing. In an 1898 paper, “High Frequency Oscillators for Electro-Therapeutic and Other Purposes," he stated that one feature of pulsed magnetism was its apparent harmlessness, passing significant amounts of electrical energy through the human body. These Tesla Coils were used to treat the body without contact using pulsed magnetic fields of up to a hundred thousand volts.



• 922 - Alexander Gurwitsch posited that muscle tissues, the cornea, blood, and nerves are all transmitters of “biophotons,” coherent light emitted by animal and plant cells, his work and provided a basis for the design of later bioelectromagnetic therapy devices.
• 1925 - Georges Lakhovsky published “Curing Cancer with Ultra Radio Frequencies” in Radio News, stating “the amplitude of cell oscillations must reach a certain value, in order that the organism be strong enough to repulse the destructive vibrations from certain microbes.” Lakhovsky's Radio-Cellulo-Oscillator (RCO) produced low frequency ELF.



• 1929 -The San Diego Union reported on the progress of Dr. Royal Raymond Rife's work in "Local Man Bares Wonders of Germ Life" and in 1938, Dr. Rife, Philip Hoyland and their ray-tube machine were a front-page story in the San Diego Evening Tribune. Rife invented the "Universal Microscope," and later the "Rife Ray Machine," utilizing very high frequencies purported to treat a wide variety of specific pathogens, which he could visualize in his high-powered microscopes. He discovered that organisms have a natural range of refraction to various light environments, suggesting that organisms could be classified and identified by their index of refraction using the Risley prism under the Universal Microscope. His work was highly influential and subjected to litigation, his lab was raided and his microscopes were destroyed. Too deep and complex a story to cover here, if you are interested in learning more about his influence, research and life's work, see this page.



• 1932 - at an American Congress of Physical Therapy seminar in New York, Dr. Gustave Kolischer stated: “Tesla’s high-frequency electrical currents are bringing about highly beneficial results in dealing with cancer, surpassing anything that could be accomplished with ordinary surgery.”
• 1910-1935 - the Flexner Report was published in 1910 and subsequently, all forms of electric medicine, including PEMF and magnetic therapies, were banned from use for a period of time, particularly after 1935. The AMA instead championed pharmaceutical and surgical interventions and discredited less-researched electrotherapeutic modalities.
• 1924-1950 - Morris Fishbein served as Secretary of the American Medical Association and Chief Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Fishbein labeled natural healers (particularly Native American shamans, midwives, and chiropractors), as “quacks” and members of an “unscientific cult,” also campaigning against cannabis and herbal medicine. Fishbein was a major contributor to the repression of electric medicine during this time period.
• 1950s - featured a resurgence of medical interest in electrotherapeutic modalities: research centers began again investigating electric and magnetic therapies for fracture non-unions



• 1960-70s - Italian born scientist Dr. Antoine Priore’s electromagnetic therapy machine was developed and researched in France. His machine involved a complicated mixing of multiple electromagnetic signals in a rotating plasma, modulating output over very strong rippling magnetic field to which the body of the test animal was exposed. He also treated sleeping sickness in rabbits with remarkable results.
• 1979 - PEMF was approved by the FDA for treatment of fracture non-unions and for the enhancement of bone formation after lumbar and cervical spine fusion surgery
• 1970s to current - NASA researches and utilizes PEMF in space travel for mitigation of microgravity effects.
• 1970's - Fritz-Albert Popp coined the term "biophotons" and, building off the work of Royal Raymond Rife and others before him, showed that biophoton emission of living organisms exhibit coherent patterns, that this effect is universal across all living organisms. Popp and Bernard Ruth established a biophysical hypothesis which suggests that biogenic, long distance intercellular communication implies information transmission.
• 1985 - Robert O. Becker's The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundation of Life was published, and Becker, Dr. Andrew Bassett, and Dr. Arthur Pilla, developed a PEMF generator to stimulate bone fracture healing, currently approved by the FDA with an 80% success rate.
• 2004 - FDA allows PEMF use in cervical spine surgeries
• 2006 - FDA allows a PEMF device for treatment of depression
• 2020 - FDA allows PEMF systems to be marketed without FDA approval as long as promoting wellness and not making medical claims.
• Currently - the research continues!
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Now there are studies supporting the use of PEMF therapies in things as diverse as depression, rheumatoid arthritis, large-scale water treatment and sanitization, cervical disc herniations and the stability of dental implants, to name just a few. Check in next week for the following post in our PEMF series, where we'll offer an overview of some of the published literature on PEMF.

Enjoy some videos on PEMF history & use below:



Currently, Dr. Jessie integrates PEMF therapies into her Physical Therapy and Frequency Specific Microcurrent sessions. You can contact us to schedule a free 15 minute consult to learn more.

Subscribe to our Blog and get updates on PEMF Therapy to your inbox:



• What is PEMF?
• What types of PEMF therapy exist?
• What can PEMF treat: the evolving Evidence and Research
• PEMF Contraindications and Precautions
• How we use PEMF at The Healing Collective
• What are the differences between FSM and PEMF?
• What is the difference between PEMF and EMFs?

RESOURCES

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Bassett CA, Pilla AA, Pawluk RJ. A non-operative salvage of surgically-resistant pseudarthroses and non-unions by pulsing electromagnetic fields. A preliminary report. Clin Orthop. 1977; 124 (124): 128–43. doi:10.1097/00003086-197705000-00017. PMID 598067.

Bassett CA, Pawluk RJ, Pilla AA. Augmentation of Bone Repair by Inductively Coupled Electromagnetic Fields. Science. 1974; 184 (4136): 575–7. doi:10.1126/science.184.4136.575. PMID 4821958.

Kenoyer JM, Miller HM. Metal technologies of the Indus Valley tradition in Pakistan and western India. Geography. 1999.

Bassett CA, Pawluk RJ, Pilla AA. Acceleration of fracture repair by electromagnetic fields. A surgically noninvasive method. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1974; 238 (1): 242–62. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1974.tb26794.x. PMID 4548330.

Bech P, Lunde M, Lauritzen L, et al. The Diagnostic Apathia Scale predicts a dose–remission relationship of T-PEMF in treatment-resistant depression. Acta neuropsychiatric. 2015; 27(1): 1-7.

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