Worldwide, over 100 million people use magnets, including 30 million in Japan alone, where 10 million people sleep on magnetic beds to counter the effects of stress, pain, fatigue and various ailments. Static magnets have held a huge attraction for those in pain. Now a new trend is coming from Europe…pulsed magnetic fields. You simply lie on a mat for 15 minutes for a whole body treatment in the convenience of your own home. In our busy lifestyles we want the safest, most advanced, time saving, and effective treatment for our families and ourselves. Pulsed magnetic fields are just that and are backed by 30 years of solid research. This kind of research has been lacking with static magnets and now consumers can have confidence in using this novel health technology for stress relief, rest and recovery.
People who have been using magnets know they are often heavy, bulky, and difficult to keep on. The body can become aggravated or not respond to magnets after a period of use. Gentle, and easy to use, the cutting-edge concept of pulsed magnetic fields imitate the low magnetic fields that occur naturally in our bodies. This concept is different from the 'permanent' magnets, which are less effective and require being worn the entire day. The results of pulsed magnetic fields are more profound since electro-magnetic balancing occurs in the body's cells.
Research on PEMF'S & Pain
The Arthritis Foundations Guide to Alternative Therapies has a section devoted to Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields, page 156-7. "There is a magnetic treatment that is medically accepted for some uses, and studies have shown it may work for osteoarthritis (OA). It’s called pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) and it’s been used successfully more than a decade to stimulate the healing of broken bones. It’s approved for other uses in more than 20 countries and is widely used in Europe for OA and other musculoskeletal conditions.
PEMF’s are being investigated at several major US universities, and studies have shown it can relieve the pain of OA of the knee and spine. It’s painless, noninvasive and has no reported side effects. The theory is the PEMF stimulates repair by replacing a short circuit in the normal electrical process in our bodies. It’s shown that bones and other parts of our bodies produce electrical signals. It is believed that under normal circumstances tiny electrical currents set off when we move or walk to stimulate bone and cartilage growth. Bone or joint damage, such as cartilage loss in OA, can interrupt that stimulation. Low-level doses of external electrical stimulation may signal the body to repair cartilage.
So far, there is no proof that PEMF can grow new cartilage. But studies do show it relieves pain and improves function. Two studies were done at Yale University using an electromagnetic coil device. The first a double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study involving 18 people with OA of the knee, showed that those who got 18 half-hour treatments had an average improvement of 23 to 61 percent in pain, joint tenderness and discomfort. The placebo group that got fake treatments had two to 18 percent improvement (Trock 1994). Another Yale study with 167 patients with OA of the knee or cervical spine showed similar, significant improvements (Trock 1993).
Another double blind, placebo controlled study was also done at Johns Hopkins University where 78 patients with OA of the knee had four weeks of treatment or a placebo. The treatment group had significantly better results in terms of pain, function and physician assessment than the placebo group (Zizic 1993)."