PEMF Therapy and Polyneuropathy

What is Polyneuropathy?

Neuropathy is a disease that occurs as a result of damage to the peripheral nerves.

When it affects only one nerve, it is called a mononeuropathy.

More commonly, it involves many nerves at the same time. That is why it is called a polyneuropathy.

It usually starts in the hands and feet and slowly progresses to other parts of the body.

It can affect all three types of nerves including: sensory, motor and autonomous.

This is what determines the symptoms.

Since the main symptom of polyneuropathy is the pain, persons affected often suffer from a wide variety of pain-related psychological issues.

 

Symptoms

As mentioned before, the symptoms depend on the affected nerve.

This is because each nerve has a specific function.

Since the sensory nerves are most commonly affected, the symptoms include:

• The sensation of tingling or numbness in the hands and feet
• The sensation of sharp, burning or freezing pain
• Touch sensitivity
• Inability to detect temperature changes

Paralysis and muscle weakness are the typical symptoms of motor nerve damage.

If the disease progresses to the autonomic nerves, people usually suffer from heat intolerance, bladder or bowel problems, dizziness caused by blood pressure changes and altered sweating.

Even though these symptoms can cause considerable distress, the complications of polyneuropathy can be even more dangerous.

Skin trauma and burns are a common occurrence, because of the inability to detect pain or temperature changes.

Due to the same reason, infections and falls happen regularly.

 

Causes

Polyneuropathy is not a single-cause disease, since many different conditions are known to cause the nerve damage.

The most common causes are:

• Autoimmune diseases including: lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome and Guillan-Barre syndrome
• Diabetes
• Infections such as: HIV, Lyme disease, hepatitis C and Epstein-Barr virus
• Alcoholism and resulting vitamin deficiencies, especially vitamins B1, B6 and B12, and vitamin E
• Nerve trauma including: vehicle accidents, sport injuries and nerve pressure

 

Treatment

Polyneuropathy is usually managed by prescribing medications with the assistance of physical therapy, surgery or PEMF therapy.

The most common medications are:

• Painkillers, over the counter or prescription
• Antidepressants, especially the tricyclic type
• Anti-seizure medication
• Topical creams or patches

 

PEMF and Polyneuropathy

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) therapy is known for its ability to reduce inflammation, improve circulation, regenerate bone and muscle and repair nerves.

PEMF is able to achieve this, by employing healthy electromagnetic frequencies.

As previously discussed, polyneuropathy affects the peripheral nerves.

Nerves consist of nerve cells called neurons.

They function by continuously firing electrical impulses to the brain, and receive similar signals from the brain and spinal cord. In order to function properly, the neurons must maintain a negative charge.

PEMF therapy emits low-frequency current that has the ability to depolarize, repolarize, or hyperpolarize the nerve cells.

This is one of the possible explanations of PEMF’s ability to modulate the neuropathic pain.

Scientists throughout the world are conducting research using PEMF as a reliable method in treating the symptoms of polyneuropathy.

The results look promising and point indicate that PEMF can be used with therapeutic efficacy, as an addition to more traditional methods.

 

PEMF Research

The Effect of PEMF/rTMS on Pain Relief in Neuropathic Patients

Italian scientists conducted a 2013 study at La Sapienza University in Rome (1).

They were trying to determine if a special type of rTMS, called H-coil rTMS, can relieve pain that occurs in cases of neuropathy.

The study protocol included patients with diabetic neuropathy, who were divided into two groups.

Both groups were treated for five days.

The first group received real H-coil rTMS therapy, while the second group received a placebo treatment.

Since this study was designed as a crossover study, the patients switched to an alternative treatment after five weeks.

The outcomes were measured as a visual analogue scale (VAS) and an RIII nociceptive flexion reflex (RIII reflex).

A total of 23 patients completed the study.

After the application of real rTMS, both the VAS and RIII reflex scores declined significantly.

This effect continued for about three weeks. Placebo treatment showed no such effect.

The scientists concluded that the application of H-coil rTMS achieves pain relief in those affected by diabetic polyneuropathy.

One of the possible explanations is that rTMS/PEMF can induce plasticity of the motor cortex and activate certain inhibitory pain control structures.

 

The Effect of PEMF on Diabetic Polyneuropathy

In a 2009 Indian study, a group of researchers tried to determine if PEMF therapy was beneficial for symptoms of diabetes-related polyneuropathy (2).

The study was performed by Graak V, Chaudhary S, Bal BS, and Sandhu JS.

In this randomized controlled study, 600 and 800 Hz frequencies were applied.

The researchers compared their effects on pain related to diabetic polyneuropathy.

Thirty patients, aged 40-68, participated in this study. All of them suffered from diabetic polyneuropathy at different stages.

The researchers split them into three groups, each consisting of 10 subjects.

Groups one and two were treated with real 600 and 800 Hz PEMF stimulation for half an hour a day, for a total of 12 days.

The third group served as a control group and continued taking their usual therapy.

The scientists assessed the parameters of motor nerve conduction (such as latency, amplitude and nerve conduction speed) and pain, both before and after the experiment.

For the statistical analysis of the data, a related t-test and unrelated t-test were employed.

The study research results showed that Groups 1 and 2 displayed a vast reduction of pain, and a significant increase in nerve conduction speed and distal latency.

The researchers’ conclusion is that low-frequency PEMF may be used as a reliable additional treatment for diabetic polyneuropathic pain.

One of the conclusions is that PEMF can also be used for slowing down the disease progression.

 

The Effect of PEMF on Nerve Repair

This 1983 study was conducted by Raji AR and Bowden Re.

It examined whether PEMF therapy had an effect on the regeneration and degeneration of rats’ common peroneal nerve (3).

The experimental design that was used in this study had regulated histological, operative, cytological and morphometric methods.

Male rats that were used in the study were the same age, with the same environmental conditions and had the same lesions.

The left common peroneal nerve was crushed above the knee in 12 pairs of rats.

In the other pair of 12 rats, the same nerve was cut but immediately sutured at the same location.

The control was the right common peroneal nerve in each rat.

The rats received either real PEMF treatment or placebo treatment for 15 minutes for periods between 3.5 days and 8 weeks after the injury.

The evaluation after the treatment showed a statistically significant difference between the PEMF and the placebo groups.

PEMF was able to improve the regeneration of the injured limbs, as well as the maturation, regeneration and degeneration of myelinated axons.

It also reduced all three types of fibrosis (perineural, intraneural and epineural).

Another effect was that the cross-sectional range of intraneural vessels enlarged after the lesions.

The conclusion can be drawn that PEMF therapy can significantly improve the neuro-regeneration of damaged and cut nerves, and, therefore, increase the chances of recovery.

However, the mechanism behind this effect is still not completely clear.

There is a need for further clinical trials in the human population.

 

The Effect of PEMF on Foot Ulcers in Diabetes

This 2015 study was conducted by scientists from Hong Kong and published in the Advances in Skin & Wound Care Journal (4).

The researchers sought to determine the microcirculation in foot ulcers and whether PEMF therapy has an effect on it.

Foot ulcers are a common complication of polyneuropathy, especially in diabetic patients, due to the progressive inability to detect pain in the foot area.

The experiment was planned as a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

It involved a total of 13 participants. Seven of them were in the PEMF group and six in the placebo group.

All of the participants suffered from inadequate healing of diabetic foot ulcers.

The study lasted a total of 21 days, during which patients received 14 sessions of either PEMF or placebo stimulation.

The evaluation consisted of determining the wound depth, wound closure, as well as microcirculation.

These parameters were assessed before the study, at the end of the study period and at a one-month follow-up.

The effects of the study are promising.

At the end of the study protocol, participants from the PEMF group experienced 18% wound healing, as opposed to only 10% in the placebo control group.

The PEMF group also showed skin capillary blood velocity improvement of  28%, as well as a 14% improvement in the diameter of capillaries.

By contrast, the placebo control group displayed a decrease in both of these parameters.

The scientists concluded that PEMF therapy can improve wound healing and microcirculation in patients suffering from foot ulcers caused by diabetes.

This is a serious condition that, if left untreated, progresses more and more and can eventually lead to limb amputation.

 

The Positive Effect of PEMF on Circulation

A group of U.S. researchers conducted an experiment that tried to determine if PEMF had an effect on microcirculation.

It was completed in 2004 at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina (5).

The researchers explained that PEMF is known for speeding up the healing of different tissues, but the exact mechanism still remains unknown.

Their hypothesis was that the increase in arterial diameter could be one of the mechanisms responsible for this process.

They tried to prove this hypothesis on the cremaster muscles of adult rats.

The cremaster muscle is a long muscle that regulates the raising of  the testicles.

This experiment was performed on anesthetized rats, that were separated into two groups.

The first group received real PEMF stimulation, while the other was treated with a placebo.

The sessions lasted from two to sixty minutes.

The diameters of the blood vessels were determined before and after the therapy.

This was measured using intravital microscopy.

The results display significant vasodilatation in cremasteric arterioles of 24 rats, after local PEMF stimulation.

The dilation after two minutes of stimulation was 9% and after sixty minutes the diameter enlargement was 8.7%.

None of the rats which received placebo stimulation demonstrated any significant increase in blood vessel diameter.

PEMF stimulation in all the rats did not cause arterial pressure or heart rate changes, nor any changes in the tissue temperature.

Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that the findings support the hypothesis that PEMF therapy can cause significant arteriolar vasodilatation.

During the study, the researchers ensured that environmental temperature and hemodynamics did not affect the reported effects.

The experiment was originally performed to inspect how PEMF stimulates and accelerates bone fracture healing and whether it is achieved through vasodilatation and blood circulation improvement.

This hypothesis was undoubtedly confirmed.

 

Conclusion

Polyneuropathy occurs when an underlying condition or an injury causes damage to the peripheral nerves.

The symptoms include the sensation of tingling, progressing pain and the inability to detect temperature changes and sensations.

The latter is the most dangerous symptom of polyneuropathy because it leads to complications, such as tissue damage and infections.

The management of polyneuropathy has to include the elimination of an underlying cause.

If the symptoms persist, certain medication, surgery and PEMF therapy can be beneficial.

As we have seen from numerous studies from throughout the world, PEMF is proven to be a reliable form of treatment.

It can alleviate the symptoms and at the same time, help with treating some of the underlying conditions.

The main physiological function of the neurons is conducting electrical impulses.

PEMF emits low-frequency current that can depolarize, repolarize or hyperpolarize the neurons.

That is how PEMF modulates the neuropathic pain and alleviates the symptoms.

PEMF is also capable of improving blood flow, microcirculation and tissue regeneration.

At the same time, PEMF is safe and non-invasive, has no side effects and can be used in the treatment of people of all ages.