Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) therapy is a non-invasive medical technology that applies pulsed electromagnetic fields of specific frequencies and intensities to the human body or biological organisms. This modulates cellular functions and physiological processes to achieve therapeutic, rehabilitative, or health-promoting objectives. As early as 1979, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved PEMF for the treatment of non-healing fractures in humans (1), laying a crucial foundation for its clinical application.
Today, PEMF therapy spans multiple fields: in orthopedics, it treats conditions like osteoporosis (2) and fractures (3); in physiological regulation, it enhances tissue oxygenation, microcirculation, and angiogenesis (4, 5)—research by Kwan et al. (6) demonstrated that PEMF therapy significantly increased capillary blood flow in diabetic patients, effectively improving microcirculation levels. Additionally, some scholars propose PEMF as an adjunct to exercise (7, 8), though no comprehensive literature review on PEMF's effects on physical activity and athletic performance currently exists. This paper aims to review the latest research findings on PEMF and physical exercise, clarify discrepancies in existing studies, and identify areas requiring further exploration.
The development of PEMF therapy originated from in-depth research into the biological effects of electromagnetic fields. By the early 20th century, scientists had discovered that electromagnetic fields could influence the physiological activities of biological tissues. In the mid-20th century, with advances in electronic technology, pulsed electromagnetic field devices were gradually developed. Their non-invasive nature and lack of significant side effects attracted attention in the medical community. In the 1970s, clinical applications of PEMF achieved breakthrough progress in fracture healing, becoming the first FDA-approved clinical indication for PEMF therapy.
Its scientific basis lies in the interaction between electromagnetic fields and cells: human cell membranes possess bioelectric properties. PEMF's pulsed signals can penetrate tissues, acting on intracellular structures such as mitochondria and ion channels. This modulates intracellular calcium concentrations, promotes ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production, thereby activating cellular repair mechanisms and improving metabolic function. Modern research further confirms that PEMF exerts therapeutic and health-promoting effects through pathways such as regulating inflammatory factor expression, promoting growth factor secretion, and improving blood circulation (3,10,12).
Chronic Pain Relief: For chronic pain conditions like arthritis, back pain, and fibromyalgia, PEMF reduces pain perception at its source by suppressing inflammatory responses and regulating nerve conduction, while avoiding the side effects of long-term analgesic use (10,12).
Acute Injury Pain Reduction: For acute sports injuries or trauma like sprains and strains, PEMF rapidly alleviates local edema and inflammation, shortens pain duration, and creates conditions conducive to tissue repair (14).
Neuropathic Pain Relief: In treating neuropathic pain conditions like sciatica and peripheral neuropathy, PEMF modulates neuronal excitability, improves neural microcirculation, and alleviates discomfort symptoms such as numbness and tingling (15).
Accelerated Bone Healing: By promoting osteoblast proliferation and bone matrix synthesis, PEMF significantly shortens fracture healing cycles, particularly for delayed or non-union fractures. It also enhances bone metabolism and increases bone density, making it an effective intervention for osteoporosis (3,7,10).
Postoperative Rehabilitation Enhancement: In recovery from orthopedic surgeries and joint replacements, PEMF reduces inflammation and edema at surgical sites, accelerates soft tissue repair, shortens patient recovery time, and lowers complication risks (28,29).
Tendon, Ligament, and Cartilage Repair: For tendon and ligament injuries like tennis elbow, golfer's elbow, and Achilles tendinitis, as well as cartilage degeneration-related conditions, PEMF stimulates repair cell activity, promotes regeneration and repair of damaged tissues, and restores joint function (12,15).
Reduced Inflammatory Markers: PEMF suppresses the release of pro-inflammatory factors like TNF-α and IL-6 while upregulating anti-inflammatory factors such as IL-10, effectively alleviating local and systemic inflammatory responses (10,11).
Application in Chronic Inflammatory Diseases: In chronic inflammatory conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, PEMF serves as an adjunctive therapy to alleviate inflammatory symptoms, slow disease progression, and improve patient quality of life (3,12).
Beyond these areas, PEMF is widely applied in treating various traumatic injuries, postoperative wound healing, and inflammation-related conditions, including edema, chronic wounds, joint injuries (shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle), disc degeneration, muscle spasms, and post-traumatic sequelae (4,11,12,14). In recent years, research has also explored its potential as an adjunctive therapy for complex conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, neurological disorders, microbial infections, and tumors (1,10,11). Notably, PEMF therapy has not been associated with any clearly identified side effects (3), indicating a high degree of safety.
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