1. < Osteoporosis & Bone Health

PEMF for treatment of Osteoporosis - Is it effective?

Posted by ivone49 @ivone49, Feb 6 6:18am

I have just been diagnosed with Osteoporosis in my left hip. Doctor wants me to have an injection but I am considering PEMF treatment rather than medication because of possible side effects. Is anyone familiar with PEMF assisting with Osteoporosis

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Osteoporosis & Bone Health Support Group.

ivone49 | @ivone49 | Feb 8 6:27pm
In reply to @stuffy "That is really interesting! Most recently I've been recommended to take Reclast, which my endo says..." + (show)
@stuffy

That is really interesting! Most recently I've been recommended to take Reclast, which my endo says is an old drug with very minimal if any side effects. Not what patients on this site say, and since I'm 86 I would rather not spend a year of my dwindling life expectancy in misery. Just got a DEXA which shows improvement or stability plus one - spine - now normal, after taking McCormick collagen and now minerals, exercise, D, eating more calcium, etc. Now I'm about to get an Echolight scan which is ultrasound that will show both bone density and bone quality and will get a doctor's consult plus 5-year risk of fracture.
You can do it as often as you want because there's no radiation and it's also more accurate than a DEXA. This is the standard in Europe now and I'm lucky to have the ortho most experienced with it in the country close by, in Sanford, NC.
My husband was diagnosed with prostate cancer but it turned out the MRI was faulty, fortunately, and he does not have cancer. There's a much more accurate up-the-butt MRI - first treatment in Europe. I'm starting to think we should check all treatments with the European standard the way we should with food additives and other food standards before we agree to them.

Jump to this post

Pemf for horses has help with bone repair especially fractures but these units need to be sufficiently powerful to get through tissue and into the bone. There are many pemf practitioners for horses that you could contact to discuss their success with fractures - without pemf those animals would have been put down.
I am 75 and new to osteo and starting to research. My doctor prescribed a Prolia injection but having done some research I cancelled the appointment and now have little interest in medications. I have started to take calcium, vita D & K2 supplements. I have read that calcium on its own is no good and needs to be accompanied with Vita D. I have also read that many people have started to take collagen.
Interesting that your husbands MRI was faulty, I am hoping my bone density scan was faulty as its hard to believe following an active lifestyle to have osteo in my left hip ?
I think that diet, exercise, supplements and daily pemf will go a long way to regenerate bone which regardless of age should regenerate naturally.

REPLY
sedrake51 | @sedrake51 | Feb 8 10:14pm
In reply to @ivone49 "Having to wear a device for 3 hours seems to me to be uncomfortable. My view..." + (show)
@ivone49

Having to wear a device for 3 hours seems to me to be uncomfortable. My view would be to have a mat that you could lie on at night and have some loops that you can target specific areas on the body in the morning. Excellent that your unit worked on bones. Could you advise the make of the machine and its specifications, mainly its intensity range usually reported as ''gaus''
Most devices seem to be manufactured in Europe and are low intensity with insufficient power for bone repair despite their claim. I am now looking at a device from China that has a varying intensity ranging 1000-6000 gaus and think this unit would be powerful enough to assist with bone repair / regeneration. I personally have no interest in the medications for osteoporosis, good commissions for doctors and pharma but poor result for patients. Regardless of age bone cells die and are replaced naturally by the immune system through exercise and diet. Changing ones lifestyle, adding supplements, calcium, vita D & K2 plus a regular pemf should help to regenerate bone.

Jump to this post

This device is by prescription only and lasts one year. It is the OrthoFix PhysioStim for the shoulder. I will text my OrthoFix rep on Monday to ask about the gaus rating. I will also ask her about mats. I wish there were mats such as you described powerful enough to help our bones readily available and proven safe. I am so thankful for this device. By the way, it was not uncomfortable or intrusive. The medical field in the US is primarily using PEMF for delayed or non-union fractures instead of maintenance to improve bone health.

REPLY
2 replies
ivone49 | @ivone49 | Feb 9 8:39pm
In reply to @sedrake51 "This device is by prescription only and lasts one year. It is the OrthoFix PhysioStim for..." + (show)
@sedrake51

This device is by prescription only and lasts one year. It is the OrthoFix PhysioStim for the shoulder. I will text my OrthoFix rep on Monday to ask about the gaus rating. I will also ask her about mats. I wish there were mats such as you described powerful enough to help our bones readily available and proven safe. I am so thankful for this device. By the way, it was not uncomfortable or intrusive. The medical field in the US is primarily using PEMF for delayed or non-union fractures instead of maintenance to improve bone health.

Jump to this post

Yes there are pemf mat units available but most are insufficiently powered to help with deep seated issues like osteoporosis so you should avoid those. I believe one that would be suitable is manufactured by I tech in Italy. They manufacture a number of pemf units but the one you should consider is the Lamagneto X. By memory its price is UK pounds 1035. They claim and distribute literature that it is suitable for osteoporosis and other deep seated issues. I would have purchased that myself but they don't send to Australia but USA should be fine. I in fact purchased a Chinese pemf unit through AliExpress, they are a more powerful unit with a varying cost around A$3500 depending on the merchant, mostly Chinese,but I noticed one merchant was in Chicago

REPLY
ivone49 | @ivone49 | Feb 9 8:46pm
In reply to @sedrake51 "This device is by prescription only and lasts one year. It is the OrthoFix PhysioStim for..." + (show)
@sedrake51

This device is by prescription only and lasts one year. It is the OrthoFix PhysioStim for the shoulder. I will text my OrthoFix rep on Monday to ask about the gaus rating. I will also ask her about mats. I wish there were mats such as you described powerful enough to help our bones readily available and proven safe. I am so thankful for this device. By the way, it was not uncomfortable or intrusive. The medical field in the US is primarily using PEMF for delayed or non-union fractures instead of maintenance to improve bone health.

Jump to this post

By the way the unit I purchased seems to be a copy of the Pulse unit manufactured in the USA. Those units are for both humans and equine and sell for around US$20000.

REPLY
Moderator
Justin McClanahan, Moderator | @JustinMcClanahan | 2 days ago

Hello @ivone49,

Side-effects with osteoporosis medications is a concern many members have. It is easy to read about the negative side-effects of these powerful medications and have your hesitancy increase. I thought you may like to see a positive experience with starting medication and why they regretted waiting:

"Evenity worked for me: Why I chose medication for osteoporosis"
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/evenity-worked-for-me/

You may also find the following article from PubMed worth looking at as well:

"Pulse Electromagnetic Field for Treating Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials"
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35864717/

In short, the study found that, " Compared with conventional medications, PEMF combined with conventional medications significantly increased BMD of lumbar vertebra, femoral, Ward's triangle, bone-specific biochemical indicators of ALP, BSAP, and osteocalcin, and relieved pain. In view of its efficacy and safety, PEMF intervention can be considered as a potentially effective complementary therapy for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis."

This may not be a perfect case study for your own situation, but it is worth bringing up with your provider. The study concluded that PEMF showed some promise, but only in conjunction with traditional treatments.

@ivone49, how are you currently doing? Were you able to discuss this potential treatment with your current provider?

REPLY
1 reply
ivone49 | @ivone49 | 20 hours ago
In reply to @JustinMcClanahan "Hello @ivone49, Side-effects with osteoporosis medications is a concern many members have. It is easy to..." + (show)
@JustinMcClanahan

Hello @ivone49,

Side-effects with osteoporosis medications is a concern many members have. It is easy to read about the negative side-effects of these powerful medications and have your hesitancy increase. I thought you may like to see a positive experience with starting medication and why they regretted waiting:

"Evenity worked for me: Why I chose medication for osteoporosis"
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/evenity-worked-for-me/

You may also find the following article from PubMed worth looking at as well:

"Pulse Electromagnetic Field for Treating Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials"
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35864717/

In short, the study found that, " Compared with conventional medications, PEMF combined with conventional medications significantly increased BMD of lumbar vertebra, femoral, Ward's triangle, bone-specific biochemical indicators of ALP, BSAP, and osteocalcin, and relieved pain. In view of its efficacy and safety, PEMF intervention can be considered as a potentially effective complementary therapy for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis."

This may not be a perfect case study for your own situation, but it is worth bringing up with your provider. The study concluded that PEMF showed some promise, but only in conjunction with traditional treatments.

@ivone49, how are you currently doing? Were you able to discuss this potential treatment with your current provider?

Jump to this post

Thanks Justin for the information. No, I won't take the medication but am exercising and watching diet with recommended supplements. Have purchased a pemf unit and waiting on it's delivery. With Pemf it is important I believe to use a machine powerful enough to get into tissue and bone otherwise it's just similar to a tens unit. The are many pemf units on the market the majority run on battery power and manufacturers claim they are good for osteo etc. I wouldn't believe that and a suitable machine should run on mains power. Some people say 'red light' but my research indicates red light is also not suitable for osteoporosis.

REPLY
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.