FAQs…

What is PEMF?

PEMF therapy, which stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field therapy, is a non-invasive, drug-free, and natural treatment that uses electromagnetic fields to stimulate the body’s natural healing processes. PEMF has been used for a wide range of therapeutic benefits and has proven results in studies for improving sleep, pain relief, reducing inflammation, and much more. By targeting the body at a cellular level, PEMF helps to enhance cellular repair, boost circulation, and promote overall wellness. Creating the optimal environment in the body to heal. 

What is PEMF Used For?

As mentioned, PEMF therapy creates an optimal environment within the body to support healing and recovery. It can benefit a wide range of conditions, promoting pain relief, reducing inflammation, and encouraging cellular repair. The examples listed below highlight just a few common applications of PEMF therapy, demonstrating its effectiveness across various areas of health and wellness.

  • Pain Relief & Management 

    PEMF therapy has been shown to provide significant relief for pain, particularly in chronic conditions. This can be attributed to a number of factors, including reducing inflammation, improving circulation, enhancing oxygen and nutrient delivery, among many others. 

    Pain can be reduced throughout the body, in any area, but a study conducted at a clinic in Cairo, Egypt, from May 2015 to September 2016 aimed to investigate whether PEMF therapy could provide additional benefits for people with chronic low back pain compared to traditional physical therapy alone. The study involved 50 participants with chronic low back pain, who were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group, which received regular physical therapy plus real PEMF therapy (50 Hz frequency, 20 Gauss intensity), and the control group, which received regular physical therapy plus a fake (sham) PEMF therapy. Both groups underwent 12 treatment sessions over four weeks.

     The results showed that the group receiving PEMF therapy experienced significantly less pain and disability, as well as better lower back movement in all directions (forward, backward, and side to side) compared to the control group. In conclusion, adding PEMF therapy to regular physical therapy resulted in superior improvements in pain relief, daily function, and back movement for patients with chronic low back pain.

    PubMed ID: 30177406

  • Reduce Inflammation

    One of the most common uses for PEMF is to reduce inflammation. The anti-inflammatory and tissue-preserving effects exerted by PEMFs occur through specific actions on A2A and ARs, which have been shown to also control brain inflammation and provide neuroprotection following brain damage.

    In chronic inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and asthma, pro-inflammatory cytokines are continuously released. These cytokines fuel inflammation, contributing to tissue damage and disease progression. They play a central role in driving the inflammatory process characteristic of these conditions, leading to symptoms such as pain, swelling, and tissue dysfunction.

    Many studies have shown PEMF to be effective for reducing inflammation. One study used 15 gauss PEMFs at 75 Hz, and it was observed to increase A2A (adenosine receptors) and ARs (androgens) within the body. This is associated with a significant inhibition of the pro-inflammatory signaling pathway (NF-kB), leading to a decrease in both the synthesis and activation of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

    Science Direct ID: S1094715921064266https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094715921064266

  • Cellular Repair & Regeneration

    PEMF therapy plays a significant role in cellular repair and regeneration by stimulating the body’s natural healing processes at the cellular level. One of the key ways it works is by promoting the growth and activity of specialized cells involved in tissue regeneration. For example, research has shown that PEMF stimulates chondrocytes (cartilage cells) to rapidly increase in number, develop into specialized cells, and enhance their ability to produce and assemble the extracellular matrix. This effect is linked to the release of anabolic morphogens, such as bone morphogenetic proteins, which are essential for the formation, maintenance, and repair of bones and cartilage.

    In addition to this, PEMF promotes the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines through adenosine receptors A2A and A3. The A2A receptor facilitates blood vessel dilation and regulates immune responses, while the A3 receptor plays a role in modulating inflammation and protecting tissues from damage. These mechanisms were observed in both lab-based and in vivo studies, demonstrating PEMF’s potential to accelerate the body’s natural repair and regeneration processes.

    PubMed ID: 29020880

  • Improve Circulation & Oxygenation

    PEMF therapy has been shown to significantly improve circulation and oxygenation throughout the body, which is essential for healing, tissue regeneration, and overall health. By stimulating the body’s natural electrical systems, PEMF enhances blood flow, enabling more effective delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues while also helping to remove metabolic waste products.

    One of the primary mechanisms by which PEMF enhances circulation is through the production of nitric oxide, a molecule that helps relax and widen blood vessels. This process, known as vasodilation, improves blood flow and ensures better oxygen delivery to cells, which is particularly beneficial for healing and recovery. PEMF therapy also aids in improving red blood cell function, allowing them to carry more oxygen throughout the body.

    A study investigating the effects of PEMF on small blood vessels in rats showed promising results. The rats were exposed to either PEMF or a placebo treatment for 2 or 60 minutes, and the size of their blood vessels was measured before and after the treatments. The results demonstrated that PEMF caused a significant expansion of the blood vessels, with a 9% increase in size after 2 minutes and an 8.7% increase after 60 minutes. No changes were observed in the rats that received the placebo treatment, and PEMF did not affect blood pressure, heart rate, or tissue temperature. These findings suggest that PEMF can help expand blood vessels, potentially explaining its effectiveness in promoting healing by improving circulation.

    PubMed ID: 14656663

  • Improve Energy Levels

    PEMF therapy has been shown to significantly increase energy levels by enhancing cellular function. One of the primary ways it works is by stimulating the production of ATP, the energy carrier molecule in the body. ATP is crucial for nearly every cellular process, including muscle contraction, protein synthesis, and cellular repair. When ATP production is boosted, the body's cells have more energy to perform these vital functions, which in turn increases overall energy levels and enhances recovery.
    In addition to increasing ATP production, PEMF therapy also enhances the flow of electrons within the body, which helps activate the electron transport chain and improves cellular voltage. This increased cellular energy leads to improved overall vitality and can help reduce fatigue, enhance mental clarity, and promote physical endurance. Studies have shown PEMF to increase ATP levels by up to 400%.
    As PEMF stimulates the body at a cellular level, it also plays a role in increasing nitric oxide levels, which improves blood flow, oxygen delivery, and nutrient transportation to tissues. These effects further support the body's energy systems, enabling individuals to feel more energetic and perform better throughout the day.

  • Improve Sleep

    PEMF therapy has been shown to significantly improve sleep quality, making it a promising treatment for those struggling with insomnia. One of the key ways PEMF supports better sleep is by stimulating the body's natural relaxation response, reducing stress, and promoting a more balanced sleep cycle. PEMF also helps regulate the autonomic nervous system, encouraging a shift towards the parasympathetic state, which is essential for restful sleep.

    A 4-week study by the University der Bundeswehr München in Germany investigated the effects of PEMF devices on insomnia. 101 patients were randomly assigned either an active PEMF device or a placebo. Among those using the active device, 70% experienced complete relief from insomnia, 24% showed clear improvement, and 6% had slight improvement. The active-treatment group showed significant improvements in sleep latency (time taken to fall asleep), interruptions, sleepiness, concentration, and headaches. Importantly, no adverse effects of treatment were reported.

    PubMed ID: 11697020

  • Create Optimal Environment to Heal

    PEMF therapy helps create an optimal environment for healing by stimulating the body’s natural regenerative processes. By influencing cellular activity, reducing inflammation, improving circulation, and promoting tissue repair, PEMF sets the stage for the body to recover more effectively and efficiently.

    At the cellular level, PEMF enhances the body's ability to repair and regenerate damaged tissues. It activates key biological pathways that increase the production of growth factors, proteins, and enzymes essential for tissue repair. Furthermore, PEMF helps maintain and restore the cell membrane potential, ensuring that cells can function optimally for healing. By encouraging these cellular activities, PEMF supports faster recovery and can help reduce the duration of the healing process.

    In addition, PEMF improves circulation, which is critical for tissue regeneration. By increasing blood flow, it ensures that cells receive adequate oxygen and nutrients, while also facilitating the removal of metabolic waste products. This improved circulation speeds up the healing process and creates an ideal environment for recovery.

    Overall, PEMF therapy plays a crucial role in optimizing the body’s healing environment, making it a powerful tool for recovery and overall health.

How PEMF Began

First Breakthrough Study…

The discovery of cellular regeneration and its connection to electrical stimulation like PEMF was due to the famous frog leg experiments. In research from the mid-20th century, it was observed that when a frog's leg was injured, applying an electrical current could stimulate the regeneration of tissue. This phenomenon revealed the critical role of bioelectricity in cellular repair and regeneration. The voltage difference across cell membranes what some refer to as the "resting potential" is a key driver of these processes.

When cells are injured or damaged, their electrical potential drops from the optimal range of -70 to -90 millivolts, disrupting their ability to heal and communicate. The frog leg experiments showed that restoring this voltage balance could significantly influence the body's ability to repair itself. This principle aligns with the foundational mechanism of PEMF therapy, which uses pulsed electromagnetic fields to optimize the body’s cells, enabling them to function more effectively.

Leading to PEMF’s first FDA approval!

The development of the first FDA-approved PEMF device for bone health by Dr. Andrew Bassett built on earlier discoveries about the role of bioelectricity in healing, such as the previous experiments on frog legs. These foundational studies demonstrated that electrical signals in the body play a crucial role in cellular repair and regeneration. 

In the 1970s, Dr. Bassett, along with Dr. Arthur Pilla, conducted pioneering research into the use of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) for bone healing. They focused on non-union fractures; broken bones that fail to heal properly despite conventional treatments. Their hypothesis was that applying low-frequency PEMF could replicate the electrical signals naturally generated by bones under stress, stimulating cellular activity essential for repair. Through rigorous testing, they found that PEMF therapy could significantly enhance bone regeneration by activating osteoblasts, increasing blood flow, and accelerating tissue repair. In 1979 PEMF was FDA-approved for healing non-union fractures.

PEMF FDA Approvals

  • 1979 – FDA approved PEMF therapy for healing non-union fractures.

  • 1987 – FDA approved for adjunct therapy when treating postoperative edema and pain.

  • 1998 - FDA approved PEMF Therapy for urinary incontinence and muscle stimulation.

  • 2004 - FDA approved PEMF Therapy for cervical fusion patients at high-risk of non-fusion.

  • 2006 - FDA approved PEMF Therapy for treatment of depression and anxiety.

  • 2011 – FDA approved PEMF Therapy for treatment of brain cancer.

How PEMF Works

The body is electric and has it’s own magnetic field, which can be measured up to 5 feet away. PEMF takes advantage of the fact that we are ‘electric beings’ with many conductive pathways such as nerves and muscles. PEMF uses these conductive pathways to induce healing microcurrents in the cells. At a fundamental level, PEMF increases the flow of electrons which helps to activate the electron transport chain, which is an electrical flow that helps charge the cell voltage.

This increased flow of electrons from PEMF can improve ATP levels. ATP is a molecule that serves as the primary energy carrier in all living cells. ATP is also a signalling molecule and has been shown to increase by up to 400% when using PEMF. This provides the body with more energy to perform functions for healing.

PEMF also increases nitric oxide levels, which is a gas that also acts as a signalling molecule in the body and is produced naturally but is increased by PEMF. Nitric oxide helps dilate, relax and widen blood vessels (increasing blood flow). It enhances the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to tissues, which can aid in healing and improve muscle performance. Additionally, it plays a role in the immune system by helping to destroy pathogens like bacteria and viruses. Nitric oxide also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain, influencing cognitive function, memory and learning.

As both ATP and nitric oxide are signalling molecules, they have a knock-on effect on signalling pathways. They both help to stimulate anti-inflammatory pathways, which brings a long list of benefits. Reducing inflammation helps to increase healing, as well as growth factors and regeneration. PEMF stimulates the Nrf2 pathway, a protective pathway that increases heat shock protein 70, which helps keep your body healthy by increasing cellular resistance. It also boosts your cells' natural antioxidants. All of these effects, along with many others, can help your body heal from nearly any condition.

Will PEMF Work for my Condition? 

Yes, PEMF therapy can work for nearly any condition because it targets the root cause the health of your cells. Rather than focusing on specific conditions, PEMF helps improve cellular function, enabling your body to heal and regenerate more efficiently. It’s especially effective for inflammation-related conditions, as it promotes circulation, reduces swelling, reduces pain and enhances tissue repair.

Whether you're dealing with pain, injury recovery, stress or chronic conditions, PEMF supports your body’s natural healing processes, providing relief and accelerating recovery. The versatility of PEMF means it can be beneficial for a wide range of health concerns, helping you feel your best.

Using PEMF…

How Often Would I Need PEMF Therapy?

How often you need PEMF therapy will depend on the system itself and personal need / preferences on assessment. If you would like personalised advice, please feel free to contact me. However, as a blanket rule, we recommend up to a a maximum of twice-daily PEMF sessions of at least 20-30 minutes (once in the morning and once in the evening). This can also be condensed in to one hourly session which is far more convenient! The effects of PEMF on your cells will last around 8 hours (on average), so two sessions ensure your cells are always treated. PEMF is just like taking vitamins; it is an ongoing thing that should be used consistently over a longer period of time to achieve optimal results. However many people feel immediate benefits after one treatment!

You may think finding this time will be hard, but the great thing about PEMF therapy is that you can have treatment whilst watching TV, reading, working or relaxing, so it is easy to fit it into your day-to-day life.

How is PEMF Applied?

Localised PEMF devices (HofMag) are used to target specific areas of the body, such as joints, muscles, or areas of injury. This targeted approach is effective for treating acute conditions or specific symptoms in particular regions, such as pain or inflammation. For example, localised PEMF is ideal for targeting areas like the lower back, knees, or shoulders to reduce pain, enhance circulation, and accelerate healing in those tissues.

PEMF FAQs 

Does a PEMF device need to be registered as a ‘medical’ device? 

In simple terms no. Some PEMF devices are registered as medical devices, but a lot are not and prefer to register under an electronic device instead. There is no current enforcement on PEMF devices to require them to be registered as a medical device, unless they have medically relatable programs. For example, if a device has a program called ‘pain’ or ‘migraine’ it should therefore be required to register under medical. If a device only has selectable frequencies or programs called ‘wellness’ for example, it does not need to be medically registered.

Our medical grade PEMF technology (HofMag) penetrates deeper into the muscles - up to 22 cm - and treats hard to reach areas, acting on injury and inflammation at a cellular level. The fully portable Hofmag device can also be taken in to client’s own homes (where the client feel most comfortable and at ease)! The large, robust loop and strong carry case are perfectly designed for life on the go!

Is PEMF therapy FDA approved?

PEMF therapy is FDA approved for certain conditions (not all are listed below) and a short timeline of FDA approval is as follows:

  • 1979 – FDA approved PEMF therapy for healing non-union fractures.

  • 1987 – FDA approved for adjunct therapy when treating postoperative oedema and pain.

  • 1998 - FDA approved PEMF Therapy for urinary incontinence and muscle stimulation.

  • 2004 - FDA approved PEMF Therapy for cervical fusion patients at high-risk of non-fusion.

  • 2006 - FDA approved PEMF Therapy for treatment of depression and anxiety.

  • 2011 – FDA approved PEMF Therapy for treatment of brain cancer.

2015 - FDA reclassified PEMF devices from their existing Class 3 category to a Class 2 status, and most PEMF devices that are sold today are FDA registered as wellness or medical devices.

Is PEMF natural?

PEMF therapy is a natural drug free alternative therapy with many applications

PEMF devices are considered healing because they replicate the natural magnetic field and low frequencies of the earth and never reach the high frequencies or heating effects of EMFs.

Is PEMF therapy called anything else?

You may have heard about PEMF therapy under another name.

Common examples are Electromagnetism, Electro Magnetic Pads, Electromagnetic therapy and Pulse Electro Magnetic Field therapy.

Are EMFs and PEMFs the same?

No. A big difference between PEMFs and EMFs is that PEMF therapy uses frequencies and magnetic fields at therapeutic levels. PEMF devices are considered healing because they replicate the natural magnetic field and low frequencies of the earth and never reach the high frequencies or heating effects of EMFs. It is unproven that EMFs (such as from wireless devices) have a negative effect on your health but they are also different from PEMFs.

How does P(EMF's) differ to potentially harmful EMF's? 

The easiest way to describe the difference between therapeutic P(EMF’s) and potentially harmful EMF’s is to look at the range they use. A good PEMF device will have a range between 1Hz – 100Hz, which are defined as within the therapeutic range. Some PEMF devices go up to 1,000Hz, which is still OK and has shown to be effective for depression (according to the FDA), but I wouldn’t go higher that those frequencies when using PEMF’s. If you compare this to the mobile phones that we use against our heads, phones are now on 5GHz which is actually 5,000,000,000Hz (5 billion Hz). So, this gives you some idea of how far apart these frequencies are!

At 5GHz, studies have shown how these frequencies are absorbed by the body and they vibrate and heat our cells. Effectively they are cooking us from the inside. If you use your phone against your head for 20-30 minutes, scans will show how the brain is heated during that time by those frequencies. Over time these cells will cool and recover but it’s still scary stuff, especially for those who use phones or Bluetooth headsets for a prolonged time each day.

P(EMF’s) within the therapeutic ranges (1-100Hz) are not even absorbed by the body and actually just pass right through without any resistance. They do not vibrate cells or heat them up but actually encourage the cells to form healthy new ones and push waste material out of the current cells in our bodies. This is the reason why I also tell people to drink water often, in order to help flush / detox those waste materials after using PEMF’s. The same way our body’s get rid of nasties if you went out for a run or got a deep tissue massage.

The earth’s natural magnetic field resonates at 7.8Hz, so we are surrounded by this frequency in nature. PEMF’s within the therapeutic range are seen as much more natural frequencies than those that some of our household items use (and even some other therapeutic devices that rely on heating tissues within the body). PEMF’s are the best way to bring natural frequencies back into our homes (and to our bodies) to create the optimal environment to heal and regenerate.

Is it dangerous to use the therapy too much? 

It is not possible to overdose on PEMF therapy and there are no known negative effects from using it too much.

Cautions of PEMF

Pregnancy: Caution is advised during pregnancy. Whilst there is no evidence of harm caused by using PEMFs during pregnancy, their safety has not yet been established.

Neurological Conditions: Those with neurological conditions that can cause seizure (e.g epilepsy) are advised to be cautious when using PEMF therapy. Reports of PEMF initiating a seizure are very rare however there is the theoretical potential for this to happen.

Active Bleeding: One of the benefits of applying PEMF therapy is the increase in circulation and blood oxygenation, but for people suffering from active bleeding (i.e. after an operation), this may worsen the blood loss and reduce the ability of the blood to clot in order for it heal over properly. Any source of bleeding should be fully controlled before using PEMF therapy