Table 4.
The Clinical Effects of Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields on Joints
| Model | Treatment | Effect | Results | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knee OA | PEMF: 2 h per day for 6 weeks | Positive | PEMF significantly improved stiffness after 2 weeks in patients <65 years. | Thamsborg et al.67 |
| Frequency: 50Hz | ||||
| Arthroscopic treatment of knee cartilage | PEMF: 6 h per day for 90 days | Positive | Knee injury and OA outcome score at 90 days was significantly higher in the PEMF-treated group. At 3 years follow-up, the numbers of completely recovered patients were significantly higher in the PEMF-treated group. |
Zorzi et al.69 |
| Frequency: 75 Hz | ||||
| Intensity: 1.5 mT | ||||
| Early knee OA | PEMF: 4 h per day for 45 days | Positive | PEMF significantly improved symptoms, function, and activity at 1 year follow-up. | Gobbi et al.68 |
| Frequency: 75 Hz | ||||
| Intensity: 1.5 mT | ||||
| Microfracture for knee OA | PEMF: 6 h per day for 60 days | Positive | At 5 years follow-up, clinical and functional outcomes were better in the PEMF-treated group. | Osti et al.70 |
| Frequency: 75 Hz | ||||
| Intensity: 1.5 mT | ||||
| Knee OA | PEMF: 12 h per day for 1 month | Positive | PEMF induced a significant reduction in visual analog scale pain and The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score. | Bagnato et al.66 |
| Frequency: 27.12MHz | ||||
| Microfracture of osteochondral talar defects | PEMF: 4 h per day for 60 s | None | There were no significant between-group differences in sport resumption and bone repair. | Reilingh et al.71 |
| Frequency: 75 Hz | ||||
| Intensity: 1.5 mT |