Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of arthritis which affects the hands, hips, shoulders, and knees. It affects a sizable proportion of the population, especially the elderly, leading to pain and disability. A recent study has revealed that electromagnetic therapies have a positive effect on arthritis pain. The study aimed to test the effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) device in the management of knee pain in OA patients.

One of the effective approaches for relieving the knee pain in OA patients is PEMF and have shown promising results. An electromagnetic field is an invisible force attracting things to the magnet. This invisible attraction is created using an electrical current that may affect the cartilage around the joints. In OA, electromagnetic field therapy is applied to the skin around the joints.

PEMF generators include low-power, wearable devices designed for virtually continuous use as well as high-power machines meant to be used several times a day. These are believed to aid OA patients by apparently increasing blood flow to the areas exposed to the EMF and also relieves pain.

The study enrolled patients with the knee OA and treated in a 48-minute sessions of either extremely low EMFs to the knee for two weeks or a placebo treatment. The study results showed that patients who received electromagnetic field treatment experienced pain relief about 46% more as compared with patients who received fake treatment (8% improvement). However, more extensive studies are needed to confirm this data, but 2013 review of the available data confirmed that EMF therapy “may provide moderate benefit in OA, especially pain relief.

In conclusion, there is a statistically significant benefit of the PEMF therapy regarding pain relief and disability improvement in patients with knee OA resistant to conventional treatment in the absence of significant side-effects. However, Further studies using different types of magnets, treatment protocols, and patient populations are needed to prove the efficacy of PEMF therapy in different conditions.