when I look for the newest science about PEMF, I see dozens of recently published papers on PEMF. See here. As far as I can see usually some form of PEMF is applied a short period of time <20 min max. 1x a day. That’s it. For ICES we are advised to carry it 24/7 if possible. That makes me wonder: How does ICES compares to the PEMF used in the studies? Are there studies that specifically look at what ICES can do or similar devices? If not, why and if yes, what are results?
I wonder whether using it 24/7 might take away benefits. But using it only 20 minutes probably is not enough power? I would love to see some evidence about what is going on exactly.
This is the Magic Question. I am working on a book about this (do not hold your breath, will take many years, have already been working on it 7 or 8 years). The problem is that most of these papers (there are actually more than 1000 papers) do not tell you enough information to define exactly what form of PEMF they are using. My scientific assessment: only about 3% of peer-reviewed scientific papers actually have enough information to completely define the PEMF they are studying. But, based on regulatory standards, there are about 1,000,000,000,000,000 (yes 1 quadrillion, this is not an exaggeration) different ways to apply PEMF. I describe it here:
So, briefly:
-There is no answer to your very reasonable question.
-At least 95% of what you read on the Internet about PEMF is just marketing fraud, which takes advantage of this information vacuum to spin myths and scams.
The scientific reality is this: there are lots of observations to suggest PEMF can really be helpful, but scientifically, we do not know why. That’s just the truth, but many people need reassurances, so there are plenty of charlatans to monetize this basic human need.
The best answers for how to use it are repeated across hundreds (thousands?) of videos and posts and papers and talks I have given. For micro-pulse technology, the best strategy is:
Use as directed
-Try and adjust and see for yourself.
If you do this, we get reports of 93.5 to 99% very positive benefits. But this is for things like severe crippling chronic pain. Whether it works for anything like hair loss is entirely unknown.
I can’t speak for other forms of PEMF. They certainly seem to make a lot of claims, but I do think (based on reports from reputable clinicians I know) that they do work when used properly.