Szemerszky Renáta, Szabolcs Zsuzsanna, Bogdány Tamás, Jánossy Gábor, Thuróczy György, Köteles Ferenc
Institute of Health Promotion and Sport Sciences, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Bogdánfy u. 10/B, Budapest H-1117, Hungary.
Institute of Health Promotion and Sport Sciences, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Bogdánfy u. 10/B, Budapest H-1117, Hungary; Doctoral School of Psychology, Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Izabella u. 46, H-1064 Budapest, Hungary.
Physiol Behav. 2018 Feb 1;184:55-59. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.11.005. Epub 2017 Nov 7.
Empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of pulsed (electro)magnetic field (PEMF) therapy on chronic and acute pain is equivocal. In the current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, impact of a commercially available whole-body PEMF mat on acute ischemic muscle pain induced in the forearm was studied with the participation of 70 healthy volunteers. The device emitted a pulsed magnetic field with a repetition frequency of 2.05Hz and a maximum flux density of 25.3μT (rms). The highest dB/dt was 48mT/s. No differences between the groups receiving actual and sham PEMF were found in terms of pain threshold, pain tolerance, heart rate, and perceived decrease of pain. However, participants' expectation concerning the effectiveness of the intervention improved pain tolerance and affected perceived change of pain. In conclusion, the used PEMF device had no specific effect on acute ischemic muscle pain, while the contribution of the placebo effect was considerable.
