Abstract
Background: A new approach to pain management appeared in a physical therapy. It is technology based on the effect of strong pulsed electromagnetic field in human tissue (the value of induction is in the order of units of tesla).
This pilot study examines the analgesic effect of this technology with different diagnoses. Objective: Verification of an analgesic effect of a strong pulsed electromagnetic field on a sufficient statistical sample in a clinical practice.
Methods: The therapy was performed with 57 randomly selected patients with chronic and acute pain of musculoskeletal system. Patients had 6 therapies in average, 1-2 times per week, 10-15 minutes according to the selected protocol.
We used the combination of the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the Verbal Numerical Rating Scale (VNRS) to determine the analgesic effect. Results: Regardless of diagnoses the overall decrease of pain was 37.5%.
There was significant release of pain at 46 patients. There was neither improvement nor worsening of pain in 4 of the 50 patients.
Seven patients were excluded from the study. Conclusion: We have demonstrated the analgesic effect of a strong pulsed electromagnetic field on musculoskeletal pain.