Electromagnetic therapy or electromagnetic field therapy refers to therapy involving the use of
magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nic ...
s or
electromagnets
An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in the ...
.
Types include :
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Bioelectromagnetics
Bioelectromagnetics, also known as bioelectromagnetism, is the study of the interaction between electromagnetic fields and biological entities. Areas of study include electromagnetic fields produced by living cells, tissues or organisms, the ...
, the study of how electromagnetic fields interact with and influence biological processes.
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Electrotherapy
Electrotherapy is the use of electrical energy as a medical treatment. In medicine, the term ''electrotherapy'' can apply to a variety of treatments, including the use of electrical devices such as deep brain stimulators for neurological disea ...
, the use of electrical or electromagnetic energy in medicine;
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Electromagnetic therapy (alternative medicine), the use of electromagnetic radiation to treat disease. Evidence of efficacy is lacking.
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Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy
Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMFT, or PEMF therapy), also known as low field magnetic stimulation (LFMS) uses electromagnetic fields in an attempt to heal non-union fractures and depression. By 2007 the FDA had cleared several such sti ...
, or PEMF, the use of weak electromagnetic fields to initiate
osteogenesis
Osteoblasts (from the Greek combining forms for "bone", ὀστέο-, ''osteo-'' and βλαστάνω, ''blastanō'' "germinate") are cells with a single nucleus that synthesize bone. However, in the process of bone formation, osteoblasts functio ...
.
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Alternating electric field therapy
Alternating electric field therapy, sometimes called tumor treating fields (TTFields), is a type of electromagnetic field therapy using low-intensity, intermediate frequency electrical fields to treat cancer. A TTField-generating device manufactu ...
, also known as "Tumor Treating Fields", the use of electric fields as an anti-mitotic therapy for
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
patients.
See also
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Magnet therapy
Magnetic therapy is a pseudoscientific alternative medicine practice involving the weak static magnetic field produced by a permanent magnet which is placed on the body. It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic thera ...
, use of static
magnetic field
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and t ...
s with the aim of treating disease. Evidence of efficacy is lacking.
References
Medical procedures
Electromagnetism
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