SELECTING A PEMF SYSTEM – THE FIRST ESSENTIAL STEPS
If you are considering getting a PEMF system for your health, the number of choices can be overwhelming. So, what are some of the most important considerations to make the right choice?
Since getting a PEMF system is an investment in your present and future health, it’s important to consider not only what is motivating you or other household members now but also having some idea of what you may need in the future. In this situation, because a PEMF system is an investment that will be available to you for years to come, it may be worth thinking about getting something better than you would consider just for the short term.
WHOLE BODY SYSTEM OR LOCAL PEMF SYSTEM?
The first decision needs to be whether you need a ‘whole-body’ PEMF system or a ‘local’ PEMF system.
Whole Body PEMF System
Local/Small area PEMF system
A local system will have applicators that are basically only useful to treat one small area of the body at a time, such as a hand, knee, elbow, foot, part of the shoulder, part of the back, prostate, bladder, or neck, etc.
A long and wide pad applicator will typically treat the entire body. Whole-body PEMF systems are typically used for health maintenance, since the whole body needs health maintenance. If you want to treat several local areas of the body at the same time, this can be done more easily, saving time, by using a whole-body system. Systemic health conditions such as osteoporosis, Lyme disease, Chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune diseases, vascular diseases, or multi-area skin disorders may normally also require a whole-body PEMF system.
Local PEMF System
Whole Body PEMF System
All whole body PEMF systems have smaller pad-type regional applicators that can be used separately from the whole-body pad. A regional applicator is one that treats an area of the body, for example, the abdomen, the chest, the pelvis, hips, shoulders, or upper or lower back. These are often also called pillow applicators and come in various sizes depending on the system. Whole body pads are almost always lower intensity than local or regional applicators/pads. So, you will need to know the intensity of each applicator.
WHAT MAGNETIC FIELD INTENSITY DO I NEED?
After deciding on local versus whole body, the next most important decision will usually be what magnetic field intensity is needed. My video “intensity matters” describes why magnetic field intensity is important. There are several choices among whole body PEMF systems ranging in intensity from 500 gauss to < 1 Gauss (< 100 micro Tesla). The rule of thumb is that the higher the intensity the faster the results and the less the treatment time.
Many people make their decision based on cost, sacrificing results. Results are often promised with very low intensity systems that ignore the research studies showing that higher intensity is needed. Many of these proven intensities can be found in Dr Pawluk’s book Power Tools for Health.
Health maintenance, done daily, may be reasonably effective with very low intensity systems or higher intensity systems. When someone wants to do health maintenance and there are significant health problems in multiple areas of the body, higher intensity whole body pads will be needed. These should preferably be over 50 Gauss (5000 microTesla or 5 milliTesla).
If you decided you needed a local treatment PEMF, the next most important consideration is intensity. Lower intensities may work well for superficial problems in tissues that are not deep in the body, such as the hands, elbow, shoulder tendinitis, carpal tunnel, heel spurs, eyes, teeth, TMJ, etc. Higher intensity local PEMFs are needed for problems deeper in the body, such as in the brain, spine, prostate, bladder, hips, knees, heart, lung, gallbladder, pancreas, kidneys, bones, etc. Local treatment PEMFs can range in maximum intensity from 10 Gauss to around 10000 Gauss.
If you want to do whole body and regional treatments with the same PEMF system, intensity also becomes very important. Regional applicators can range in intensity from <1 Gauss to 1500 Gauss.
Generally, the higher the intensity, the more expensive the PEMF.
Once the basic decision is made on whole body versus local, and the intensity needed, other considerations also come into play, including frequencies, applicator shapes, whether portable or AC powered, and whether rentals are available. Advice about the variety of PEMF options may be needed from someone knowledgeable to help sort out all the options.
Hopefully, this will help you to sort out some of the confusing information about which PEMF system is the best for you. For more information read my book Power Tools for Health or go to my website DrPawluk.com. There you can find more useful information on pulsed electromagnetic field treatment, such as PEMF intensities, frequencies & waveforms, how to apply PEMF, etc. We also offer a variety on whole-body PEMF systems and local PEMF systems.
Healing with PEMF Therapy
SETTING A HEALING TIMELINE FOR PEMF TREATMENT
One of the most common questions people have before starting PEMF therapy is about how quickly they will see results. The answer is dependent on a variety of factors and is impossible to predict with any great precision. That being said, we can usually help people manage their expectations and make an estimate as to when they may be able to expect some improvement by setting a healing timeline.
Determining when a person will feel better begins with understanding how PEMF therapy works when applied to various health conditions, and understanding the overall health of the person being treated. Device selection is exceptionally important to achieving the best, fastest, most sustainable results from your system.
Many people experience tremendous results within the first week or two of using their system. For some people, results come more slowly, and we can react to that by fine-tuning the treatment protocol. The body takes time to heal once it is given the appropriate signal or stimulus. A fracture, for example, will take 8 to 12 weeks to heal to a point where the bone can be used. This does not mean the healing process is complete, but just that the body part is usable once again. Magnetic therapies can speed the healing rate, but they cannot work miracles. Illness is rarely, if ever, an instantaneous happening—the same is true of healing. We did not get to our current health state overnight, and we are unlikely to heal overnight.
IMPROVEMENT AND HEALING WITH PEMF THERAPY
Setting a healing timeline and having proper expectations is important in the use of PEMF therapies. If you are depressed or anxious, for example, small health improvements may seem inadequate. To set realistic expectations, we must first understand the nature of the problem, the depth of the damage or dysfunction, the types of tissues involved and their respective regeneration potential, and the age of the person. In many cases, people don’t necessarily notice a huge improvement in symptoms day to day, but when they look back over a week or a month, they realize they have improved significantly.
Even if PEMFs are not likely to reverse a dysfunction, they can stall or slow the progression of a disease state. And for tissues that do not have regenerative capacities, PEMFs are still valuable in reducing pain, reducing swelling, improving circulation, and stimulating whatever regeneration may be possible.
Since many health problems for which PEMFs are being used are stubborn and chronic, it may take up to 6 months to achieve desirable results. If the treatment program is too gentle, or there is an inadequate amount of time spent on the system, results may not be seen in the first few months.
WHAT CAN PEMF THERAPY TREAT?
While the ways in which the body heals itself are known, there are various places in the healing process where the body may get “stuck”. This is where tissues are most vulnerable to the disease state progressing from acute to chronic. Cellular communication begins with a signal impulse and ends with a change in cellular behavior. When the cellular change is a destructive one, a condition can become chronic. Reestablishing normal cellular communication is the only way to combat the dysfunction.
Pain and inflammation are two of the most common conditions treated with PEMF therapies. Both can be categorized as either acute or chronic. Acute pain and inflammation in an otherwise reasonably healthy body will likely take care of themselves, though PEMF therapies are expected to streamline the process and speed up healing time. The earlier in the process you use PEMF therapies, the faster you will see results.
There are some health problems that cannot be corrected with PEMF therapy alone. One common example is with bone-on-bone arthritis in the knee or hip. In this circumstance, the damage is so extensive and so many tissues are involved that a joint replacement is often inevitable. Even in this situation, however, PEMF therapies can make a huge difference one way or another. If the magnetic therapy is not controlling the pain of the condition, it can assist the tissues to be as healthy as possible prior to having the joint replacement. After the surgery, the recovery time is expected to be shorter with the help of magnetic field therapy, and with a decreased risk of complications. In addition, some research and feedback from patients indicates that the prosthesis integrates better with the bone, making the new joint feel stronger. This osteointegration may also decrease the likelihood for future breakdown.
SENSITIVITY TO PEMF AND OTHER MAGNETIC FIELDS
Infrequently, we experience individuals who are extraordinarily sensitive to magnetic fields, and experience increased discomfort or other unpleasant symptoms. In these cases, PEMF therapy must be used “low and slow,” meaning with a low intensity, and short treatment times. In these cases, setting a healing timeline helps understand that benefits may be more difficult to achieve due to the appropriate and necessary intensities not being possible. Still, results can be dramatic. Most of these individuals need to be on a significant supplement and nutrition program to achieve the best results.
Research in the pain management program at Hopkins found that some individuals with chronic pain have personality traits that result in very poor treatment outcomes. These individuals often experience negative reactions even to placebo magnetic fields. When these patients are followed over time, some complain that their problems have been made worse by the (placebo) treatments. In these situations, it is not possible to please, and therefore PEMF therapy is not an appropriate treatment modality.