Augmentation of bone repair by pulsed elf magnetic fields in rats.

Tibial osteotomies in rats were exposed for 2, 3, 5 and 8 weeks to a pulsed extremely low frequency magnetic field. The shape of the pulse was a double halfwave (50 Hz, 70 G). The rate of bone healing was evaluated by light and electron microscopy. An increase of bone healing was found in rats treated with magnetic fields persisting throughout the tested time. The accelerated healing process produced a sequence of morphological appearances identical to those of a normal fracture callus being the enhancement of osteogenesis produced by an acceleration of preliminary ossification.