Researchers have found that as many as 200 million people in the United States suffer from bone loss, usually due to osteoporosis. One in three women and one in five men will lose so much bone they may suffer a bone fracture. Bone fractures in aging Americans are one of the single greatest loss of mobility in seniors. Are you concerned about bone loss, and are you looking for ways to increase your bone density? You may want to think about pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, or PEMF. Here is more information on how PEMF therapy can help you keep your bones strong.

What Is PEMF?

Many countries used PEMF for thousands of years in some areas of the world, but it is relatively new in the United States. Asian cultures used magnetic stones as a way to heal the body centuries ago. Researchers believe the body has an electrical charge, and note that electromagnetic impulses in the body are higher when the body is injured. For example, you will have an injury when you break a bone. These impulses call on the body to begin the bone regrowth process.

When humans are young and healthy, the body’s natural processes can heal the break or fracture. Young children and young adults can heal quickly. In fact, the younger you are, the more quickly you will heal. If you have underlying health conditions or you are an adult in midlife or beyond, your body doesn’t heal as easily. Your doctor may prescribe PEMF treatments to help your body heal, or to stimulate bone growth.

How Does It Work?

Usually, a PEMF device looks like a coil with a fabric covering. The patient wears the device on an arm, leg, hip or back–wherever there is an injury, or where you need additional bone growth. You will wear the device for a specific time period, usually a few minutes. Once the PEMF is turned on, you should not feel pain in the area, but you will feel a pulsing, which is the device working in your body. People can use a PEMF device for up to 30 minutes twice a day for two or three days per week. Your doctor will decide how often you should use the device.

PEMF and Bone Growth Therapy

Many people do not know that they have suffered bone loss until they break a bone. While women may have bone density scans starting at 55 or 60, men may never have a scan. That’s because osteoporosis was considered to be a woman’s disease. However, bone loss is common in men as well as in women. After age 30, both men and women can begin to lose bone mass. Losing bone mass makes bones more brittle, which means you have a greater chance of a bone break should you fall.

There are other therapies to help slow down or reverse the loss of bone density. Many doctors recommend you exercise, take supplements–especially calcium and vitamin D, and eat leafy greens. For some patients experiencing bone loss, this will not be enough to prevent a break.

Bones Respond to PEMF

PEMF therapy is a great way to stimulate bone growth, even if you haven’t had a recent break. Just as the therapy helps broken bones to grow, it can also stimulate new growth in an area where no break has occurred, but where you may need more bone mass. An injured patient will wear the device to stimulate growth, and you can wear the device as well to encourage your bones to thicken and grow stronger. Since your bones aren’t injured, you may not need the treatment as long or as often. Your doctor can decide how much time on the PEMF device is best for you.

Best of all, the PEMF treatment is not invasive. Unlike bone grafts and other types of bone surgery, there is no anesthesia involved, and no medication is needed. Many adults, especially adults in midlife and beyond, worry about the effects of medication on the body, which is understandable. PEMF therapy is different from other medical therapies. The therapy uses your body’s own electromagnetic field to work for you. If you are suffering from osteoporosis, you have recently healed from an injury, or you are concerned about bone loss, you should ask your doctor about PEMF treatments that are available in your area.