Luigi Galvani's Frog Experiment
Injury Currents and The Body Electric
"I sing the body that is electric! I celebrate the Self yet to be unveiled!"
-Walt Whitman
Frog Legs and Frankenstein
As far back as the 18th century, Italian physician and surgeon Luigi Galvani noticed that recently dissected frog legs twitched vigorously when a nearby electric generator emitted a spark. The phenomenon was so interesting that Galvani made a career of studying the twitches and how, for example, an ‘electric fluid’ in a nerve could be conducted via a metallic wire to a muscle, which would contract. In 1791, he wrote a paper detailing many of his experiments entitled “The Effects of Artificial Electricity on Muscular Motion” [1]. This discovery led to the widespread belief that electricity represented the literal 'spark of life.' It was such a pervasive theory that it made its way into literature and the arts, exemplified by Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, in which a lightning storm inspires a young Dr. Frankenstein to start investigating the possible uses of electricity, including bringing the dead to life.
[1] Galvani, Aloysio Luigi. The Effects of Artificial Electricity on Muscular Motion. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 88():p 2-10, October 1972.
"I sing the body that is electric! I celebrate the Self yet to be unveiled!"
-Walt Whitman
Frog Legs and Frankenstein
As far back as the 18th century, Italian physician and surgeon Luigi Galvani noticed that recently dissected frog legs twitched vigorously when a nearby electric generator emitted a spark. The phenomenon was so interesting that Galvani made a career of studying the twitches and how, for example, an ‘electric fluid’ in a nerve could be conducted via a metallic wire to a muscle, which would contract. In 1791, he wrote a paper detailing many of his experiments entitled “The Effects of Artificial Electricity on Muscular Motion” [1]. This discovery led to the widespread belief that electricity represented the literal 'spark of life.' It was such a pervasive theory that it made its way into literature and the arts, exemplified by Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein, in which a lightning storm inspires a young Dr. Frankenstein to start investigating the possible uses of electricity, including bringing the dead to life.
[1] Galvani, Aloysio Luigi. The Effects of Artificial Electricity on Muscular Motion. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 88():p 2-10, October 1972.
It did not take very long for Galvani’s discoveries to be applied in medicine. One early discovery that has endured to this day is the use of electricity to stimulate the healing of bone fractures that have failed to heal. In 1841, Edward Hartshorne describes the use of electrical stimulation by John Birch, a London Surgeon, to treat a tibial non-union. According to Hartshorne, in 1812, Dr. John Birch in London successfully treated a nonunion of the tibia using electric currents passed through needles surgically implanted in the fracture region [2]. In 1850, Lente reported on the successful treatment of three patients with delayed unions or nonunions using electricity [3]. In 1853, the British journal, Medical Times and Gazette, published “Galvanism [electricity] to the Un-united Fracture”, describing the use of electrically charged needles inserted into a fracture site to cause healing at York County Hospital. By the mid-1800s, this had become a preferred method for treating slow-healing bone fractures [4]. Electrotherapy and energy medicine were actually thriving in the 1800s and very early 1900s. Both electricity and magnetism were used to heal bones, tissues, and diseases of all kinds.
[2] Hartshorne E. On the causes and treatment of pseudarthrosis, and especially that form of it sometimes called supernumerary joint. Am J Med, 1841;1:121-156.
[3] Lente RW. Cases of ununited fracture treated by electricity. NY State J Med. 1850;5:317-319.
[4] Geddes, L.A., 1984. A short history of the electrical stimulation of excitable tissue including electrotherapeutic applications. Physiologist 27 (1), S1–S47.
[2] Hartshorne E. On the causes and treatment of pseudarthrosis, and especially that form of it sometimes called supernumerary joint. Am J Med, 1841;1:121-156.
[3] Lente RW. Cases of ununited fracture treated by electricity. NY State J Med. 1850;5:317-319.
[4] Geddes, L.A., 1984. A short history of the electrical stimulation of excitable tissue including electrotherapeutic applications. Physiologist 27 (1), S1–S47.
Electromagnetic therapies, as a branch of medicine and as an area of clinical research, fell into disfavor in North America as a result of Abraham Flexner’s report on “Medical Education in the United States and Canada,” released in 1910. The mail-order catalogues were purged of electromagnetic and other devices. The rise in power of political medicine and the shift to nearly 100% dependence on pharmaceuticals for health led to an unfortunate period of dormancy in the U.S., lasting 60 years, until the mid 1970s. It was then re-discovered with even better research that weak electric currents and high slew rate PEMFs could induce sufficient current flow through the fracture to start the healing. The use of PEMF for bone healing was really the modern beginning of the rise of energy medicine which includes microcurrent and PEMF therapy as the most power tools for healing not just bones, but everything from A-Z. Though there were many figures in this resurgence, perhaps none was greater than the work of Robert O Becker.
[5] Flexner, A., 1910. Medical Education in the United States and Canada: A Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Bulletin No. 4. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; New York.
[5] Flexner, A., 1910. Medical Education in the United States and Canada: A Report to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Bulletin No. 4. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; New York.
Resurrecting Electromedicine from the Dark Ages of Medicine
Robert O. Becker became intrigued by the question of why humans can regenerate bone but typically form scar tissue for most other wounds. This led to his pioneering research into bioelectricity, which he detailed in his 1985 seminal book, The Body Electric. He hypothesized that specific electrical signals were the key to triggering regeneration instead of scar formation.
Becker's core hypotheses
Regeneration is the ability of lower animals to replace missing body parts. It is particularly evident in a salamander. The salamander is capable of growing an exact replacement of an arm, leg, eye, ear, up to 1/3 its brain, almost all its digestive tract and up to half its heart. If you poke a salamanders eye out, it will grow a new one. If you cut off his arm, he simply grows another one. The question is, "Why can the salamander grow new parts when frogs (a close genetic cousin) cannot?
The only apparent difference between the frogs and salamanders, was that salamanders had a much stronger VOLTAGE which results in a measurable stronger "current of injury" that stimulates healing. He further noted that in frogs, the natural electrical charge and current at a wound site would diminish, leading to scarring. In contrast, in salamanders, the electrical polarity would switch to a negative charge, which created a voltage swing that generated a strong current that stayed strong until the healing was complete.
Robert O. Becker became intrigued by the question of why humans can regenerate bone but typically form scar tissue for most other wounds. This led to his pioneering research into bioelectricity, which he detailed in his 1985 seminal book, The Body Electric. He hypothesized that specific electrical signals were the key to triggering regeneration instead of scar formation.
Becker's core hypotheses
Regeneration is the ability of lower animals to replace missing body parts. It is particularly evident in a salamander. The salamander is capable of growing an exact replacement of an arm, leg, eye, ear, up to 1/3 its brain, almost all its digestive tract and up to half its heart. If you poke a salamanders eye out, it will grow a new one. If you cut off his arm, he simply grows another one. The question is, "Why can the salamander grow new parts when frogs (a close genetic cousin) cannot?
The only apparent difference between the frogs and salamanders, was that salamanders had a much stronger VOLTAGE which results in a measurable stronger "current of injury" that stimulates healing. He further noted that in frogs, the natural electrical charge and current at a wound site would diminish, leading to scarring. In contrast, in salamanders, the electrical polarity would switch to a negative charge, which created a voltage swing that generated a strong current that stayed strong until the healing was complete.
Current of Injury - A Key to Regeneration
This "current of injury" as Becker called it, is a small direct current (DC) of electricity, existed at a wound site and was vital to healing. When a part of the body is cut or amputated, electrical currents are found to issue from the wound (as though from the ends of live wires in a circuit that have been cut). Becker and his colleagues linked the capacity for regeneration to this measurable "current of injury", which can be found in all organisms to varying degrees.
Becker used this key insight to attempt to regenerate rat limbs. In a landmark 1972 study that was published in Nature, he reported that applying a low-voltage DC electrical current to the stumps of amputated rat limbs stimulated partial regeneration, including new bone, cartilage, and nerve tissue [6]. While humans cannot yet regenerate full limbs on humans, Becker focused his human research on non-union bone fractures that would not heal . In the 1960s, Becker successfully used electrical stimulation to heal bone fractures that would not fuse on their own. The use of electrical stimulation to aid in healing non-union fractures is now a recognized therapy. As we'll see, so is PEMF therapy which works even better for this purpose.
[6] Becker, R. Stimulation of Partial Limb Regeneration in Rats. Nature 235, 109–111 (1972).
The Injury or Wound Current
Robert Becker's discovery of the current of injury was not a new one. All the way back in 1844, Carlo Matteucci was the first to identify an injury potential resulting from current flowing between a site of injury and an intact region of muscle [7]. Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond (1865) confirmed this and found a similar potential arising in injured nerves. Du Bois-Reymond also discovered that currents are produced by small epidermal wounds in human fingers immersed in saline [8]. which was confirmed by Herlitzka in 1910 [9]. The injury current (also called the wound current), is now is well established in modern bioelectricity research as an integral part of the intricate process in which the skin or another tissue or organ repairs itself after injury [10-12]. To see how this relates so integrally to the power and efficacy of high slew rate PEMF, we need to understand how these natural bioelectrical injury or wound currents are created. After we understand that, then it will become clear why using microcurrents of just the right amount OR high slew rate PEMFs of just the right amount can stimulate, enhance and jump start the healing process! Let's first explore the source of this natural healing electricity which originates in cellular ATP production and cellular voltage or transmembrane potential (TMP).
[7] Matteucci, C., 1844. Traité des phénomènes électro-physiologiques des animaux suivi d’études anatomiques
sur le système nerveux et sur l’organe électrique de la torpille par Paul Savi. Fortin, Masson et C., Paris.
[8] du Bois-Reymond, E., 1848-1884. Untersuchungen u ̈ber thierische elektricita ̈t, 2 Reimer, Berlin.
[9] Herlitzka, A., 1910. Ein Beitrag zur Physiologie der Regeneration. Wilhelm Roux Arch Entwicklungsmech
Org. 10, 126–159.
[10] Huttenlocher, A., Horwitz, A.R., 2007. Wound healing with electric potential. N Engl J Med 356,
303–304.
[11] Nguyen, D.T., Orgill, D.P., Murphy, G.F., 2009. The pathophysiologic basis for wound healing and cutaneous regeneration. In: Biomaterials for Treating Skin Loss. Woodhead Publishing (UK/Europe) & CRC Press (US), Cambridge, UK/Boca Raton, FL, pp. 25–57, Chapter 4.
[12] Zaho, M., Song, B., Pu, J., et al., 2006. Electrical signals control wound healing through phosphatidylinositol-
3OH kinase-gamma and PTEN. Nature 442, 457–460.
This "current of injury" as Becker called it, is a small direct current (DC) of electricity, existed at a wound site and was vital to healing. When a part of the body is cut or amputated, electrical currents are found to issue from the wound (as though from the ends of live wires in a circuit that have been cut). Becker and his colleagues linked the capacity for regeneration to this measurable "current of injury", which can be found in all organisms to varying degrees.
Becker used this key insight to attempt to regenerate rat limbs. In a landmark 1972 study that was published in Nature, he reported that applying a low-voltage DC electrical current to the stumps of amputated rat limbs stimulated partial regeneration, including new bone, cartilage, and nerve tissue [6]. While humans cannot yet regenerate full limbs on humans, Becker focused his human research on non-union bone fractures that would not heal . In the 1960s, Becker successfully used electrical stimulation to heal bone fractures that would not fuse on their own. The use of electrical stimulation to aid in healing non-union fractures is now a recognized therapy. As we'll see, so is PEMF therapy which works even better for this purpose.
[6] Becker, R. Stimulation of Partial Limb Regeneration in Rats. Nature 235, 109–111 (1972).
The Injury or Wound Current
Robert Becker's discovery of the current of injury was not a new one. All the way back in 1844, Carlo Matteucci was the first to identify an injury potential resulting from current flowing between a site of injury and an intact region of muscle [7]. Emil Heinrich du Bois-Reymond (1865) confirmed this and found a similar potential arising in injured nerves. Du Bois-Reymond also discovered that currents are produced by small epidermal wounds in human fingers immersed in saline [8]. which was confirmed by Herlitzka in 1910 [9]. The injury current (also called the wound current), is now is well established in modern bioelectricity research as an integral part of the intricate process in which the skin or another tissue or organ repairs itself after injury [10-12]. To see how this relates so integrally to the power and efficacy of high slew rate PEMF, we need to understand how these natural bioelectrical injury or wound currents are created. After we understand that, then it will become clear why using microcurrents of just the right amount OR high slew rate PEMFs of just the right amount can stimulate, enhance and jump start the healing process! Let's first explore the source of this natural healing electricity which originates in cellular ATP production and cellular voltage or transmembrane potential (TMP).
[7] Matteucci, C., 1844. Traité des phénomènes électro-physiologiques des animaux suivi d’études anatomiques
sur le système nerveux et sur l’organe électrique de la torpille par Paul Savi. Fortin, Masson et C., Paris.
[8] du Bois-Reymond, E., 1848-1884. Untersuchungen u ̈ber thierische elektricita ̈t, 2 Reimer, Berlin.
[9] Herlitzka, A., 1910. Ein Beitrag zur Physiologie der Regeneration. Wilhelm Roux Arch Entwicklungsmech
Org. 10, 126–159.
[10] Huttenlocher, A., Horwitz, A.R., 2007. Wound healing with electric potential. N Engl J Med 356,
303–304.
[11] Nguyen, D.T., Orgill, D.P., Murphy, G.F., 2009. The pathophysiologic basis for wound healing and cutaneous regeneration. In: Biomaterials for Treating Skin Loss. Woodhead Publishing (UK/Europe) & CRC Press (US), Cambridge, UK/Boca Raton, FL, pp. 25–57, Chapter 4.
[12] Zaho, M., Song, B., Pu, J., et al., 2006. Electrical signals control wound healing through phosphatidylinositol-
3OH kinase-gamma and PTEN. Nature 442, 457–460.
Cellular Voltage and Transcellular Currents - The Source of TEP
Unlike electric eels that have a specialized organ to generate electrical "zaps", the human body's bioelectricity is cellular generated, which translates up to the tissues, organ and full body as we'll see. Our body is made of 30-40 trillion wet cell batteries, appropriately named... cells!
Several decades ago, Nobel Prize Laureate, Dr. Otto Warburg, said that cells maintain a voltage across their membrane called a transmembrane potential or TMP, which he said is analogous to the voltage of a battery. Warburg even quantified the voltage of the cells to various disease states and health too. He found using microelectrodes that healthy cells have a measurable voltage from 70- 100 millivolts (mV), with the heart cells having the highest (upwards to 90-100 millivolts).
If we drill down even farther, we find that it is ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which drives the transmembrane potential (TMP). ATP is synthesized in the mitochondria which are the powerhouses of each cell. The average cell has around 5000 mitochondria that generate ATP, and these little powerplants that energize life are also highly electrical in natural. While standard molecular biology teaches ATP is driven from proton pumps coming from the electron transport chain, what is not usually mentioned is that strong electric fields are equally if not more important in creating ATP, the energetic molecule of life. Just as the cells have a voltage of around 70 mV, the mitochondria have a stored voltage of around 200 mV (celled the mitochondrial membrane potential or MMP). While glucose is the main starting fuel for ATP and oxygen the last electron acceptor, it is the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) (along with proton gradients) that really drives ATP or energy in the body! To give you an idea of how much energy is stored in each cell, consider that the cell membrane is only about 10 nanometers thick which is equivalent to an electric field of 10,000,000 V/m which is equivalent to the electric field of lightning! Electricity is verily the spark and engine of life!
Unlike electric eels that have a specialized organ to generate electrical "zaps", the human body's bioelectricity is cellular generated, which translates up to the tissues, organ and full body as we'll see. Our body is made of 30-40 trillion wet cell batteries, appropriately named... cells!
Several decades ago, Nobel Prize Laureate, Dr. Otto Warburg, said that cells maintain a voltage across their membrane called a transmembrane potential or TMP, which he said is analogous to the voltage of a battery. Warburg even quantified the voltage of the cells to various disease states and health too. He found using microelectrodes that healthy cells have a measurable voltage from 70- 100 millivolts (mV), with the heart cells having the highest (upwards to 90-100 millivolts).
If we drill down even farther, we find that it is ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which drives the transmembrane potential (TMP). ATP is synthesized in the mitochondria which are the powerhouses of each cell. The average cell has around 5000 mitochondria that generate ATP, and these little powerplants that energize life are also highly electrical in natural. While standard molecular biology teaches ATP is driven from proton pumps coming from the electron transport chain, what is not usually mentioned is that strong electric fields are equally if not more important in creating ATP, the energetic molecule of life. Just as the cells have a voltage of around 70 mV, the mitochondria have a stored voltage of around 200 mV (celled the mitochondrial membrane potential or MMP). While glucose is the main starting fuel for ATP and oxygen the last electron acceptor, it is the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) (along with proton gradients) that really drives ATP or energy in the body! To give you an idea of how much energy is stored in each cell, consider that the cell membrane is only about 10 nanometers thick which is equivalent to an electric field of 10,000,000 V/m which is equivalent to the electric field of lightning! Electricity is verily the spark and engine of life!
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Dr. Warburg also found that due to the constant stress of modern life along with a toxic environment and the aging process, cellular voltage drops with both age and advancing diseases. People with chronic illnesses and chronic fatigue unilaterally had a diminished cellular voltage (30-50 millivolts). Cancer patients displayed the lowest voltage at less than 15-20 millivolts. And the cells are batteries powered by ATP so with low cell voltage, it's hard to power all the functions in your body which equals sickness, fatigue and disease. You just cannot be healthy with a low cellular voltage and you cannot get sick if your voltage is high. This is why you never hear of heart cancer, because heart cells have the highest cellular voltage of any cell in the body!
Aging and ATP Decline
This energetic decline with age is also seen with ATP as well. Even if we are not sick, studies have shown after the age of 18, most individuals produce about 5-8% less ATP per decade [13,14]. This may not sound like a lot but this means that when you reach the age of 60, you are probably down by something like 20-30%. And more recent studies have shown even a more rapid decline. Unfortunately the body's need for ATP does not decline with age, and in some cases it is even greater. We'll see evidence that PEMF increases ATP production which is further confirmation that PEMF therapy is a powerful anti-aging tool!
[13] Chaudhari SN, Kipreos ET. The Energy Maintenance Theory of Aging: Maintaining Energy Metabolism to Allow Longevity. Bioessays. 2018 Aug;40(8):e1800005
[14] Short KR, Bigelow ML, Kahl J, Singh R, Coenen-Schimke J, Raghavakaimal S, Nair KS, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005, 102, 5618
Aging and ATP Decline
This energetic decline with age is also seen with ATP as well. Even if we are not sick, studies have shown after the age of 18, most individuals produce about 5-8% less ATP per decade [13,14]. This may not sound like a lot but this means that when you reach the age of 60, you are probably down by something like 20-30%. And more recent studies have shown even a more rapid decline. Unfortunately the body's need for ATP does not decline with age, and in some cases it is even greater. We'll see evidence that PEMF increases ATP production which is further confirmation that PEMF therapy is a powerful anti-aging tool!
[13] Chaudhari SN, Kipreos ET. The Energy Maintenance Theory of Aging: Maintaining Energy Metabolism to Allow Longevity. Bioessays. 2018 Aug;40(8):e1800005
[14] Short KR, Bigelow ML, Kahl J, Singh R, Coenen-Schimke J, Raghavakaimal S, Nair KS, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005, 102, 5618
Organ Voltage and the Transepithelial potential (TEP)
Just as the cell is surrounded by a plasma membrane (controlling what goes in and out), ALL of our organs are also bounded by an outer epithelium "membrane" including the largest organ in our body, our skin. It is like a "shrink wrapped" layer of cells around organs that help to dictate what goes in and out of each organ, and more importantly this layer also generates the organ's voltage or energy. And just like healthy cells have a measurable transmembrane potential (TMP) or voltage of 70 mV, this multi-layered epithelium generates a what is called a transepethial potential (TEP) of 15-60 mV across itself. And just like healthy cells have a high cellular voltage, and sick cells a low voltage, also healthy organs have a high organ voltage and sick organs have a low organ voltage. Health is optimal cellular and organ voltage, sickness is low voltage!
How do the organs store voltage? While it gets a little complicated, essentially this epithelial membrane surrounding all your organs (and body with skin), are made of specialized epithelial cells (connected by what are called gap junctions) that acting together in a surrounding membrane create this TEP or organ voltage. The TEP is due for the most part to the polarized distribution of ion channels in the epithelial cells - negative on the outside (sodium channels), positive on the inside (K channels and Na/K pumps). The net effect is that your organs have a negative charge on the outside and a positive charge on the inside such that the voltage is 15-60 mV on the average. So ultimately this voltage or electrical energy in all of our organs arises from a polarized cellular voltage of epithelial cells which ultimately comes from ATP.
Essentially, the organs are big bioelectrical batteries (15-60 mV), and the cells are smaller batteries (70-90mV) and mitochondria even smaller still (200 mV). In fact the whole body is one big battery that stores bioelectrical energy.
TEP Decline - A Contributing Cause to Aging
Transepithelial potential (TEP) of skin and organs seems to decline not only with injuries and disease, but with age. So if you think of the organs (and cells) as batteries, as we age and get sick our batteries seem to "drain" over time. How fast or slow this happens depends on many variables and if we overall lead a healthy lifestyle. There is a good study by Richard Nuccitelli showing evidence of is organ voltage decline with age. His study showed that the electric field (from the TEP) near human skin wounds declines with age by 48%. Using a new instrument, the Dermacorder®, Nuccitelli found that the mean lateral electric field in the space between the epidermis and stratum corneum adjacent to a lancet wound in 18-25 year olds is 107-148 mV/mm, 48% larger on average than that in 65-80 year olds [15]. Because younger people generally have high levels of bioelectricity, this is fundamentally why they heal faster! While, I am jumping ahead a little in our story, PEMFs have a direct effect on improving skin wound healing rates [417,418], which in light of Nuccitelli's research hints that PEMF might help to slow down the aging process by increases organ voltage! While younger people may have more bioelectricity and heal faster, even the elderly can boost their bioelectrical currents to youthful levels with high slew rate PEMF!
[15] Nuccitelli R, Nuccitelli P, Li C, Narsing S, Pariser DM, Lui K. The electric field near human skin wounds declines with age and provides a noninvasive indicator of wound healing. Wound Repair Regen. 2011 Sep-Oct;19(5):645-55. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3228273/
Just as the cell is surrounded by a plasma membrane (controlling what goes in and out), ALL of our organs are also bounded by an outer epithelium "membrane" including the largest organ in our body, our skin. It is like a "shrink wrapped" layer of cells around organs that help to dictate what goes in and out of each organ, and more importantly this layer also generates the organ's voltage or energy. And just like healthy cells have a measurable transmembrane potential (TMP) or voltage of 70 mV, this multi-layered epithelium generates a what is called a transepethial potential (TEP) of 15-60 mV across itself. And just like healthy cells have a high cellular voltage, and sick cells a low voltage, also healthy organs have a high organ voltage and sick organs have a low organ voltage. Health is optimal cellular and organ voltage, sickness is low voltage!
How do the organs store voltage? While it gets a little complicated, essentially this epithelial membrane surrounding all your organs (and body with skin), are made of specialized epithelial cells (connected by what are called gap junctions) that acting together in a surrounding membrane create this TEP or organ voltage. The TEP is due for the most part to the polarized distribution of ion channels in the epithelial cells - negative on the outside (sodium channels), positive on the inside (K channels and Na/K pumps). The net effect is that your organs have a negative charge on the outside and a positive charge on the inside such that the voltage is 15-60 mV on the average. So ultimately this voltage or electrical energy in all of our organs arises from a polarized cellular voltage of epithelial cells which ultimately comes from ATP.
Essentially, the organs are big bioelectrical batteries (15-60 mV), and the cells are smaller batteries (70-90mV) and mitochondria even smaller still (200 mV). In fact the whole body is one big battery that stores bioelectrical energy.
TEP Decline - A Contributing Cause to Aging
Transepithelial potential (TEP) of skin and organs seems to decline not only with injuries and disease, but with age. So if you think of the organs (and cells) as batteries, as we age and get sick our batteries seem to "drain" over time. How fast or slow this happens depends on many variables and if we overall lead a healthy lifestyle. There is a good study by Richard Nuccitelli showing evidence of is organ voltage decline with age. His study showed that the electric field (from the TEP) near human skin wounds declines with age by 48%. Using a new instrument, the Dermacorder®, Nuccitelli found that the mean lateral electric field in the space between the epidermis and stratum corneum adjacent to a lancet wound in 18-25 year olds is 107-148 mV/mm, 48% larger on average than that in 65-80 year olds [15]. Because younger people generally have high levels of bioelectricity, this is fundamentally why they heal faster! While, I am jumping ahead a little in our story, PEMFs have a direct effect on improving skin wound healing rates [417,418], which in light of Nuccitelli's research hints that PEMF might help to slow down the aging process by increases organ voltage! While younger people may have more bioelectricity and heal faster, even the elderly can boost their bioelectrical currents to youthful levels with high slew rate PEMF!
[15] Nuccitelli R, Nuccitelli P, Li C, Narsing S, Pariser DM, Lui K. The electric field near human skin wounds declines with age and provides a noninvasive indicator of wound healing. Wound Repair Regen. 2011 Sep-Oct;19(5):645-55. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3228273/
Injury Current Measured Accurately
Whenever you injure or wound yourself, like cutting your skin, you puncture this transepithelial layer and the negative charge on the outside of the organ will rush into the inside of the organ. Due to the transepidermal potential of 15-60 mV, this generates a low-resistance pathway through which bioelectical current will flow. This flow of current from all regions around the wound generates an electric field that points toward the wound from every direction around it. The magnitude of this electric wound field ranges between 40 and 200 mV/mm in mammalian wounds which decreases as the wound heals. These electric fields create measurable injury or wound currents which in humans is between 1-100 µA/cm^2 (with the skin having the highest potential and the highest currents - the main reason your skin regenerates so fast from a cut). Many research papers have verified these wound fields and injury currents using the vibrating probe technique and other tests. While these injury currents have been known for over 150 years, only recently have they been accurately measured by Lionel Jaffe, Richard Nuccitelli, Micheal Levin and others [16-19].
[16] Barker AT, Jaffe LF, Vanable JW., Jr. The glabrous epidermis of cavies contains a powerful battery. Am J Physiol. 1982;242:R358–R366
[17] Jaffe, L. F. and Nuccitelli, R. (1974). An ultrasensitive vibrating probe for measuring extracellular currents. J. Cell Biol. 63, 614–628.
[18] Borgens, R. B., Robinson, K. R., Vanable, J. W., Jr., McGinnis, M. E., and McCaig, C. D. Electric Fields in Vertebrate Repair. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.
[19] Illingworth, C. M. and Barker, A. T. (1980). Measurement of electrical currents emerging during the regeneration of amputated fingertips in children. Clin.Phys. Physiol. Meas. 1, 87–89.
Whenever you injure or wound yourself, like cutting your skin, you puncture this transepithelial layer and the negative charge on the outside of the organ will rush into the inside of the organ. Due to the transepidermal potential of 15-60 mV, this generates a low-resistance pathway through which bioelectical current will flow. This flow of current from all regions around the wound generates an electric field that points toward the wound from every direction around it. The magnitude of this electric wound field ranges between 40 and 200 mV/mm in mammalian wounds which decreases as the wound heals. These electric fields create measurable injury or wound currents which in humans is between 1-100 µA/cm^2 (with the skin having the highest potential and the highest currents - the main reason your skin regenerates so fast from a cut). Many research papers have verified these wound fields and injury currents using the vibrating probe technique and other tests. While these injury currents have been known for over 150 years, only recently have they been accurately measured by Lionel Jaffe, Richard Nuccitelli, Micheal Levin and others [16-19].
[16] Barker AT, Jaffe LF, Vanable JW., Jr. The glabrous epidermis of cavies contains a powerful battery. Am J Physiol. 1982;242:R358–R366
[17] Jaffe, L. F. and Nuccitelli, R. (1974). An ultrasensitive vibrating probe for measuring extracellular currents. J. Cell Biol. 63, 614–628.
[18] Borgens, R. B., Robinson, K. R., Vanable, J. W., Jr., McGinnis, M. E., and McCaig, C. D. Electric Fields in Vertebrate Repair. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.
[19] Illingworth, C. M. and Barker, A. T. (1980). Measurement of electrical currents emerging during the regeneration of amputated fingertips in children. Clin.Phys. Physiol. Meas. 1, 87–89.
“Bioelectricity is the spark of life”
– Dr Michael Levin
Many cells in the human body have the ability to detect and response to electric fields and electrical currents of these magnitudes. Galvanotaxis or electrotaxis which is the directional movement of cells in response to an electric field. Galvanotaxis occurs in wound healing where the surfaces of neutrophils, macrophages, fibroblasts, and epidermal cells involved in wound repair are all electrically charged which causes them to migrate to the injured area in the direction of the injury current (see figure above). Even nerve growth and the extension of new blood vessels is stimulated and guided by these energy fields [20]. By detecting and orienting themselves in an electric field, cells are able to direct their movement toward a wound to facilitate the repair and regeneration process. And Micheal Levin's research at Tufts University even gets better. These bioelectric fields actually form the guiding blueprint for the tissue that needs to be regenerated. So bioelectric fields and bioelectricity in the human is not only energetic, but highly intelligent in guiding healing, remodeling and regeneration. The details of the of this are beyond the scope of this book, but refer to Levins research to learn more [9-20].
[20] Majno, G., 1975. The Healing Hand. Man and Wound in the Ancient World. Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, MA.
[9] Levin, Michael; Johnson, Randy L; Sterna, Claudio D; Kuehn, Michael; Tabin, Cliff (September 1995). "A molecular pathway determining left-right asymmetry in chick embryogenesis". Cell. 82 (5): 803–814.
[10] Levin, Michael (1 January 2005). "Left–right asymmetry in embryonic development: a comprehensive review". Mechanisms of Development. 122 (1): 3–25.
[11] Levin, Michael; Thorlin, Thorleif; Robinson, Kenneth R.; Nogi, Taisaku; Mercola, Mark (October 2002). "Asymmetries in H+/K+-ATPase and Cell Membrane Potentials Comprise a Very Early Step in Left-Right Patterning". Cell. 111 (1): 77–89.
[12] Sundelacruz, Sarah; Levin, Michael; Kaplan, David L. (September 2009). "Role of Membrane Potential in the Regulation of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation". Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. 5 (3): 231–246.
[13] Blackiston, Douglas J.; McLaughlin, Kelly A.; Levin, Michael (November 2009). "Bioelectric controls of cell proliferation: Ion channels, membrane voltage and the cell cycle". Cell Cycle. 8 (21): 3527–3536.
[14] Levin, Michael (June 2007). "Large-scale biophysics: ion flows and regeneration". Trends in Cell Biology. 17 (6): 261–270.
[15] Adams, Dany S.; Masi, Alessio; Levin, Michael (1 April 2007). "H+ pump-dependent changes in membrane voltage are an early mechanism necessary and sufficient to induce Xenopus tail regeneration" (PDF). Development. 134 (7): 1323–1335.
[16] Adams, Dany S.; Robinson, Kenneth R.; Fukumoto, Takahiro; Yuan, Shipeng; Albertson, R. Craig; Yelick, Pamela; Kuo, Lindsay; McSweeney, Megan; Levin, Michael (1 May 2006). "Early, H+-V-ATPase-dependent proton flux is necessary for consistent left-right patterning of non-mammalian vertebrates" (PDF). Development. 133 (9): 1657–1671.
[17] Fukumoto, Takahiro; Kema, Ido P.; Levin, Michael (May 2005). "Serotonin Signaling Is a Very Early Step in Patterning of the Left-Right Axis in Chick and Frog Embryos". Current Biology. 15 (9): 794–803. Bibcode:2005CBio...15..794F.
[18] Levin, Michael; Pagan, Sylvia; Roberts, Drucilla J.; Cooke, Jonathan; Kuehn, Michael R.; Tabin, Clifford J. (September 1997). "Left/Right Patterning Signals and the Independent Regulation of Different Aspects ofSitusin the Chick Embryo". Developmental Biology. 189 (1): 57–67.
[19] Levin, Michael (December 2014). "Molecular bioelectricity: how endogenous voltage potentials control cell behavior and instruct pattern regulation in vivo". Molecular Biology of the Cell. 25 (24): 3835–3850.
[20] Levin, Michael (2019). "The Computational Boundary of a "Self": Developmental Bioelectricity Drives Multicellularity and Scale-Free Cognition". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 2688.
– Dr Michael Levin
Many cells in the human body have the ability to detect and response to electric fields and electrical currents of these magnitudes. Galvanotaxis or electrotaxis which is the directional movement of cells in response to an electric field. Galvanotaxis occurs in wound healing where the surfaces of neutrophils, macrophages, fibroblasts, and epidermal cells involved in wound repair are all electrically charged which causes them to migrate to the injured area in the direction of the injury current (see figure above). Even nerve growth and the extension of new blood vessels is stimulated and guided by these energy fields [20]. By detecting and orienting themselves in an electric field, cells are able to direct their movement toward a wound to facilitate the repair and regeneration process. And Micheal Levin's research at Tufts University even gets better. These bioelectric fields actually form the guiding blueprint for the tissue that needs to be regenerated. So bioelectric fields and bioelectricity in the human is not only energetic, but highly intelligent in guiding healing, remodeling and regeneration. The details of the of this are beyond the scope of this book, but refer to Levins research to learn more [9-20].
[20] Majno, G., 1975. The Healing Hand. Man and Wound in the Ancient World. Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, MA.
[9] Levin, Michael; Johnson, Randy L; Sterna, Claudio D; Kuehn, Michael; Tabin, Cliff (September 1995). "A molecular pathway determining left-right asymmetry in chick embryogenesis". Cell. 82 (5): 803–814.
[10] Levin, Michael (1 January 2005). "Left–right asymmetry in embryonic development: a comprehensive review". Mechanisms of Development. 122 (1): 3–25.
[11] Levin, Michael; Thorlin, Thorleif; Robinson, Kenneth R.; Nogi, Taisaku; Mercola, Mark (October 2002). "Asymmetries in H+/K+-ATPase and Cell Membrane Potentials Comprise a Very Early Step in Left-Right Patterning". Cell. 111 (1): 77–89.
[12] Sundelacruz, Sarah; Levin, Michael; Kaplan, David L. (September 2009). "Role of Membrane Potential in the Regulation of Cell Proliferation and Differentiation". Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. 5 (3): 231–246.
[13] Blackiston, Douglas J.; McLaughlin, Kelly A.; Levin, Michael (November 2009). "Bioelectric controls of cell proliferation: Ion channels, membrane voltage and the cell cycle". Cell Cycle. 8 (21): 3527–3536.
[14] Levin, Michael (June 2007). "Large-scale biophysics: ion flows and regeneration". Trends in Cell Biology. 17 (6): 261–270.
[15] Adams, Dany S.; Masi, Alessio; Levin, Michael (1 April 2007). "H+ pump-dependent changes in membrane voltage are an early mechanism necessary and sufficient to induce Xenopus tail regeneration" (PDF). Development. 134 (7): 1323–1335.
[16] Adams, Dany S.; Robinson, Kenneth R.; Fukumoto, Takahiro; Yuan, Shipeng; Albertson, R. Craig; Yelick, Pamela; Kuo, Lindsay; McSweeney, Megan; Levin, Michael (1 May 2006). "Early, H+-V-ATPase-dependent proton flux is necessary for consistent left-right patterning of non-mammalian vertebrates" (PDF). Development. 133 (9): 1657–1671.
[17] Fukumoto, Takahiro; Kema, Ido P.; Levin, Michael (May 2005). "Serotonin Signaling Is a Very Early Step in Patterning of the Left-Right Axis in Chick and Frog Embryos". Current Biology. 15 (9): 794–803. Bibcode:2005CBio...15..794F.
[18] Levin, Michael; Pagan, Sylvia; Roberts, Drucilla J.; Cooke, Jonathan; Kuehn, Michael R.; Tabin, Clifford J. (September 1997). "Left/Right Patterning Signals and the Independent Regulation of Different Aspects ofSitusin the Chick Embryo". Developmental Biology. 189 (1): 57–67.
[19] Levin, Michael (December 2014). "Molecular bioelectricity: how endogenous voltage potentials control cell behavior and instruct pattern regulation in vivo". Molecular Biology of the Cell. 25 (24): 3835–3850.
[20] Levin, Michael (2019). "The Computational Boundary of a "Self": Developmental Bioelectricity Drives Multicellularity and Scale-Free Cognition". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 2688.
Using Microcurrents and Energy Fields to Stimulate Wound Healing
Since these currents and fields guide healing and regeneration, we can supplement and boost these fields using applied electric currents, electric fields and high slew rate PEMF (which induces microcurrents). There is much research since the 1950s and dating back even much earlier, that using electric currents, electric fields and PEMFs that induce healing electric currents, and can dramatically enhance and hasten the healing process. Sometimes electrical stimulation can even jump start healing that gets stalled as in non-union fractures.
But what are the best intensities of electric fields and currents to use to stimulate healing in the human body? It might not be a surprise, but research has shown that artificial enhancement of these "wound fields" and currents of injury close to the body's natural levels does indeed increase the rate of wound closure and the extent of regeneration [21-31]. This means that a wide range of energy therapies, ranging from microcurrent therapies, to electric field therapies, to PEMFs, acupuncture, etc. can facilitate the healing injuries of all kinds spanning all tissue types. When the body’s endogenous bioelectric system does not produce normal wound repair, therapeutic electrical currents may be delivered into the ‘repair field’ from an external source. The applied current may serve to mimic the failed natural bioelectric currents, thereby promoting wound healing. In human tissues this range is 1-100 µA/cm^2. . Transcellular current densities (cells) are in the range of 1-10 µA / cm² (including bone), and epithelial current densities (organs) are in the range of 10-100 μA / cm² [18,19]. Endogenous electric fields giving rise to these injury currents are in the range 40-200 V/m.
[21] Borgens, R. B. (1982). What is the role of naturally produced electric current in vertebrate regeneration and healing?. Int. Rev. Cytol. 76, 245–298.
[22] Borgens, R. B., Robinson, K. R., Vanable, J. W., Jr., McGinnis, M. E., and McCaig, C. D. Electric Fields in Vertebrate Repair. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.
[23] Cho, M. R. (2002). A review of electrocoupling mechanisms mediating facilitated wound healing. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 30, 1504–1515.
[24] Cho, M. R., Marler, J. P., Thatte, H. S., and Golan, D.E. (2002). Control of calcium entry in human fibroblasts by frequency-dependent electrical stimulation. Front Biosci. a1–a8.
[25] Jaffe, L. F. and Vanable, J. W. (1984). Electric fields and wound healing. Clin. Dermatol. 2, 34–44.
[26] McCaig, C. D. and Zhao, M. (1997). Physiological electrical fields modify cell behaviour. BioEssays 19, 819–826.
[27] McCaig, C. D., Rajnicek, A. M., Song, B., and Zhao, M. (2002). Has electrical growth cone guidance found its potential? Trends Neurosci. 25, 354–359.
[28] Nuccitelli, R. (1984). The involvement of transcellular ion currents and electric fields in pattern formation, in Pattern Formation: A Primer in Developmental Biology, edited by G. M. Malacinski, and S. V. Bryant. New York, London: MacMillan Publishing Co., Collier MacMillan Publishers, pp. 23–46.
[29] Nuccitelli, R. (1988). Physiological electric fields can influence cell motility, growth, and polarity. Adv. Cell Biol. 2, 213–233
[30] Robinson, K. R. (1985). The responses of cells to electrical fields: A review. J. Cell Biol. 101, 2023–2027.
[31] Vanable, J. W. (1989). Integumentary potentials and wound healing, in Electric Fields in Vertebrate Repair, edited by R. B. Borgens, K. R. Robinson, J. W. Vanable, Jr. M. E. McGinnis. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc, pp. 171–224.
It was perhaps first discovered by bioelectricity pioneer Elmer J. Lund in the early 1900s that establishing an artificial electrical field causing a current mimicking the current of injury could facilitate regeneration.[32] That is, if we want to use microcurrents, electric fields or PEMFs to heal the body, we need to make sure to use intensities that are close to the healing/injury currents and fields the human body naturally creates! There are studies by Vanable and others that using electric fields close to the body or slightly higher to stimulate healing BUT, if you use intensities that are too high, the healing is REDUCED[33-37]! A little more is good, because if the body is sick or stuck, it needs an extra boost or jump start to get unstuck and get the healing flowing.
[32] H. Richard Leuchtag. "Voltage-Sensitive Ion Channels: Biophysics of Molecular Excitability". Retrieved 2012-08-01.
[33] Chiang, M., Cragoe, E. J., Jr., and Vanable, J. W. (1991). Intrinsic electric fields promote epithelialization of wounds in the newt, Notophthalmus viridescens. Dev. Biol. 146, 377–385.
[34] Sta Iglesia, D. D., Cragoe, E. J., Jr., and Vanable, J. W., Jr. (1996). Electric field strength and epithelization in the newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). J. Exp. Zool. 274, 56–62.
[35] Sta Iglesia, D. D. and Vanable, J. W., Jr. (1998). Endogenous lateral electric fields around bovine corneal lesions are necessary for and can enhance normal rates of wound healing. Wound Repair Regen. 6, 531–542.
[36] Becker RO. The bioelectric factors in amphibian-limb regeneration. J Bone Joint Surg 1961;43:643–56.
[37] Becker, R. O. (1961). "Search for Evidence of Axial Current Flow in Peripheral Nerves of Salamander". Science. 134 (3472): 101–2.
More Evidence you need naturally occuring field strengths
Zhao Forrester & McCaig, 1999 studied corneal epithelial cells in culture and found that the orientation of cell division is directed by small, applied electric fields. The field strength used was 150mV/mm, which is within the range of those measured in many developing and regenerating systems [38]
naturally occurring electrical fields may participate in the control of tissue repair and regeneration. Applied electrical fields equivalent to the size of fields measured in vivo direct cell migration, cell proliferation, and nerve sprouting at wounds [38,39].
[38] Zhao, M., Forrester, J.V., McCaig, C.D., 1999. A small, physiological electric field orients cell division. Proc.
Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 96, 4942–4946.
[39] Wang, E.T., Zhao, M., 2010. 2010 Regulation of tissue repair and regeneration by electric fields. Chin.
J. Traumatol. 13 (1), 55–61.
Interestingly, research shows the optimal response occurring in fields on the order of 100 mV/mm [5].
[40] Nuccitelli, Richard. (2003). A Role for Endogenous Electric Fields in Wound Healing. Current topics in developmental biology. 58. 1-26. 10.1016/S0070-2153(03)58001-2.
Using electrical stimulation, Most clinical trials have reported a significant increase in the rate of healing from 13 to 50% [41].
[41] Nuccitelli, R., 2003. A role for endogenous electric fields in wound healing. Curr. Top. Dev. Biol. 58, 1–26.
Another effect of electric fields is the enhancement of ATP production in the cells involved in the repair process. This is important because energy from ATP is needed to power cell migrations and the synthesis of new proteins and other molecules that must be replaced. This was demonstrated by Cheng et al. (1982), who found that currents of 10–1000 μA produced a three- to five-fold increase in ATP levels. Higher current levels, into the milliampere range, decreased protein synthesis. This has important clinical applications, such as stimulating the healing of chronic wounds [42-44].
[42] Cheng, N., et al., 1982. The effect of electric currents on ATP generation, protein synthesis, and membrane transport in rat skin. Clin. Orthop. 171, 264–272.
[43] Kloth, L.C., McCulloch, J.M., 1996. Promotion of wound healing with electrical stimulation. Adv. Wound
Care 9 (5), 42–45.
[44] Messerli, M.A., Graham, D.M., 2011. Extracellular electrical fields direct wound healing and regeneration. Biol. Bull. 221, 79–92.
fractures of rabbit fibula, evidencing the most effective combination of physical amounts of the signal (60kHz–0.33 V/cm–33 μA/cm)
33µA/cm^2
[45] Brighton CT, Hozack WJ, Brager MD, Windsor RE, Pollack SR, Vreslovic EJ, Kotwick JE. Fracture healing in the rabbit fibula when subjected to various capacitively coupled electrical fields. J Orthop Res. 1985;3(3):331–40.
This is just a sample, as having read many studies by top bioelectrical researchers, a common theme is to use electric currents and electric fields that are the same or slightly higher than the natural and endogenous energies in the body. When you go too high, the healing goes down. There is no clear consensus on the cutoff,
but the message is clear: Stay close to the body, more is not better! As we will see throughout this book, one of the main goals of PEMF therapy is to induce healing electric fields and microcurrents that are close to the intensities of the body's own natural endogenous electric fields and injury currents or slightly higher. We'll see with slew rate that using just the right slew rate with PEMF therapy induces healing microcurrents in these natural and therapeutic ranges.
High intensity PEMF units that make the muscles fasciculate (involuntarily twitch contract) are way too high. One study [20] showed that currents around 1700-2000 µA/cm^2 are needed for muscle fasciculation. So if a PEMF device is making your muscles twitch, it is inducing microcurrents 20 to 2000 times stronger than the body's natural currents. While it depends on the slew rate, usually muscle twitching only happens with PEMF devices >1000 Gauss (100 mT), which is way too high. More on this later!
[46] Taghipour, Hamed & Frounchi, Javad & Ahmadiasl, Nasser & Shahabi, Parviz & Salekzamani, Yaghoub. (2015). Effect of contacts configuration and location on selective stimulation of cuff electrode. Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering. 25. 237-248. 10.3233/BME-151281.
---
[18]Nuccitelli R. 1988. Ionic currents in morphogenesis. Experientia 44:657–666.
[19] Nuccitelli R. 1990. The vibrating probe technique for studies of ion transport. In Noninvasive Techniques in Cell Biology, Eds. Foskett JK and Grinstein S, Wiley- Liss, New York, pp. 273–310.
Since these currents and fields guide healing and regeneration, we can supplement and boost these fields using applied electric currents, electric fields and high slew rate PEMF (which induces microcurrents). There is much research since the 1950s and dating back even much earlier, that using electric currents, electric fields and PEMFs that induce healing electric currents, and can dramatically enhance and hasten the healing process. Sometimes electrical stimulation can even jump start healing that gets stalled as in non-union fractures.
But what are the best intensities of electric fields and currents to use to stimulate healing in the human body? It might not be a surprise, but research has shown that artificial enhancement of these "wound fields" and currents of injury close to the body's natural levels does indeed increase the rate of wound closure and the extent of regeneration [21-31]. This means that a wide range of energy therapies, ranging from microcurrent therapies, to electric field therapies, to PEMFs, acupuncture, etc. can facilitate the healing injuries of all kinds spanning all tissue types. When the body’s endogenous bioelectric system does not produce normal wound repair, therapeutic electrical currents may be delivered into the ‘repair field’ from an external source. The applied current may serve to mimic the failed natural bioelectric currents, thereby promoting wound healing. In human tissues this range is 1-100 µA/cm^2. . Transcellular current densities (cells) are in the range of 1-10 µA / cm² (including bone), and epithelial current densities (organs) are in the range of 10-100 μA / cm² [18,19]. Endogenous electric fields giving rise to these injury currents are in the range 40-200 V/m.
[21] Borgens, R. B. (1982). What is the role of naturally produced electric current in vertebrate regeneration and healing?. Int. Rev. Cytol. 76, 245–298.
[22] Borgens, R. B., Robinson, K. R., Vanable, J. W., Jr., McGinnis, M. E., and McCaig, C. D. Electric Fields in Vertebrate Repair. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.
[23] Cho, M. R. (2002). A review of electrocoupling mechanisms mediating facilitated wound healing. IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 30, 1504–1515.
[24] Cho, M. R., Marler, J. P., Thatte, H. S., and Golan, D.E. (2002). Control of calcium entry in human fibroblasts by frequency-dependent electrical stimulation. Front Biosci. a1–a8.
[25] Jaffe, L. F. and Vanable, J. W. (1984). Electric fields and wound healing. Clin. Dermatol. 2, 34–44.
[26] McCaig, C. D. and Zhao, M. (1997). Physiological electrical fields modify cell behaviour. BioEssays 19, 819–826.
[27] McCaig, C. D., Rajnicek, A. M., Song, B., and Zhao, M. (2002). Has electrical growth cone guidance found its potential? Trends Neurosci. 25, 354–359.
[28] Nuccitelli, R. (1984). The involvement of transcellular ion currents and electric fields in pattern formation, in Pattern Formation: A Primer in Developmental Biology, edited by G. M. Malacinski, and S. V. Bryant. New York, London: MacMillan Publishing Co., Collier MacMillan Publishers, pp. 23–46.
[29] Nuccitelli, R. (1988). Physiological electric fields can influence cell motility, growth, and polarity. Adv. Cell Biol. 2, 213–233
[30] Robinson, K. R. (1985). The responses of cells to electrical fields: A review. J. Cell Biol. 101, 2023–2027.
[31] Vanable, J. W. (1989). Integumentary potentials and wound healing, in Electric Fields in Vertebrate Repair, edited by R. B. Borgens, K. R. Robinson, J. W. Vanable, Jr. M. E. McGinnis. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc, pp. 171–224.
It was perhaps first discovered by bioelectricity pioneer Elmer J. Lund in the early 1900s that establishing an artificial electrical field causing a current mimicking the current of injury could facilitate regeneration.[32] That is, if we want to use microcurrents, electric fields or PEMFs to heal the body, we need to make sure to use intensities that are close to the healing/injury currents and fields the human body naturally creates! There are studies by Vanable and others that using electric fields close to the body or slightly higher to stimulate healing BUT, if you use intensities that are too high, the healing is REDUCED[33-37]! A little more is good, because if the body is sick or stuck, it needs an extra boost or jump start to get unstuck and get the healing flowing.
[32] H. Richard Leuchtag. "Voltage-Sensitive Ion Channels: Biophysics of Molecular Excitability". Retrieved 2012-08-01.
[33] Chiang, M., Cragoe, E. J., Jr., and Vanable, J. W. (1991). Intrinsic electric fields promote epithelialization of wounds in the newt, Notophthalmus viridescens. Dev. Biol. 146, 377–385.
[34] Sta Iglesia, D. D., Cragoe, E. J., Jr., and Vanable, J. W., Jr. (1996). Electric field strength and epithelization in the newt (Notophthalmus viridescens). J. Exp. Zool. 274, 56–62.
[35] Sta Iglesia, D. D. and Vanable, J. W., Jr. (1998). Endogenous lateral electric fields around bovine corneal lesions are necessary for and can enhance normal rates of wound healing. Wound Repair Regen. 6, 531–542.
[36] Becker RO. The bioelectric factors in amphibian-limb regeneration. J Bone Joint Surg 1961;43:643–56.
[37] Becker, R. O. (1961). "Search for Evidence of Axial Current Flow in Peripheral Nerves of Salamander". Science. 134 (3472): 101–2.
More Evidence you need naturally occuring field strengths
Zhao Forrester & McCaig, 1999 studied corneal epithelial cells in culture and found that the orientation of cell division is directed by small, applied electric fields. The field strength used was 150mV/mm, which is within the range of those measured in many developing and regenerating systems [38]
naturally occurring electrical fields may participate in the control of tissue repair and regeneration. Applied electrical fields equivalent to the size of fields measured in vivo direct cell migration, cell proliferation, and nerve sprouting at wounds [38,39].
[38] Zhao, M., Forrester, J.V., McCaig, C.D., 1999. A small, physiological electric field orients cell division. Proc.
Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 96, 4942–4946.
[39] Wang, E.T., Zhao, M., 2010. 2010 Regulation of tissue repair and regeneration by electric fields. Chin.
J. Traumatol. 13 (1), 55–61.
Interestingly, research shows the optimal response occurring in fields on the order of 100 mV/mm [5].
[40] Nuccitelli, Richard. (2003). A Role for Endogenous Electric Fields in Wound Healing. Current topics in developmental biology. 58. 1-26. 10.1016/S0070-2153(03)58001-2.
Using electrical stimulation, Most clinical trials have reported a significant increase in the rate of healing from 13 to 50% [41].
[41] Nuccitelli, R., 2003. A role for endogenous electric fields in wound healing. Curr. Top. Dev. Biol. 58, 1–26.
Another effect of electric fields is the enhancement of ATP production in the cells involved in the repair process. This is important because energy from ATP is needed to power cell migrations and the synthesis of new proteins and other molecules that must be replaced. This was demonstrated by Cheng et al. (1982), who found that currents of 10–1000 μA produced a three- to five-fold increase in ATP levels. Higher current levels, into the milliampere range, decreased protein synthesis. This has important clinical applications, such as stimulating the healing of chronic wounds [42-44].
[42] Cheng, N., et al., 1982. The effect of electric currents on ATP generation, protein synthesis, and membrane transport in rat skin. Clin. Orthop. 171, 264–272.
[43] Kloth, L.C., McCulloch, J.M., 1996. Promotion of wound healing with electrical stimulation. Adv. Wound
Care 9 (5), 42–45.
[44] Messerli, M.A., Graham, D.M., 2011. Extracellular electrical fields direct wound healing and regeneration. Biol. Bull. 221, 79–92.
fractures of rabbit fibula, evidencing the most effective combination of physical amounts of the signal (60kHz–0.33 V/cm–33 μA/cm)
33µA/cm^2
[45] Brighton CT, Hozack WJ, Brager MD, Windsor RE, Pollack SR, Vreslovic EJ, Kotwick JE. Fracture healing in the rabbit fibula when subjected to various capacitively coupled electrical fields. J Orthop Res. 1985;3(3):331–40.
This is just a sample, as having read many studies by top bioelectrical researchers, a common theme is to use electric currents and electric fields that are the same or slightly higher than the natural and endogenous energies in the body. When you go too high, the healing goes down. There is no clear consensus on the cutoff,
but the message is clear: Stay close to the body, more is not better! As we will see throughout this book, one of the main goals of PEMF therapy is to induce healing electric fields and microcurrents that are close to the intensities of the body's own natural endogenous electric fields and injury currents or slightly higher. We'll see with slew rate that using just the right slew rate with PEMF therapy induces healing microcurrents in these natural and therapeutic ranges.
High intensity PEMF units that make the muscles fasciculate (involuntarily twitch contract) are way too high. One study [20] showed that currents around 1700-2000 µA/cm^2 are needed for muscle fasciculation. So if a PEMF device is making your muscles twitch, it is inducing microcurrents 20 to 2000 times stronger than the body's natural currents. While it depends on the slew rate, usually muscle twitching only happens with PEMF devices >1000 Gauss (100 mT), which is way too high. More on this later!
[46] Taghipour, Hamed & Frounchi, Javad & Ahmadiasl, Nasser & Shahabi, Parviz & Salekzamani, Yaghoub. (2015). Effect of contacts configuration and location on selective stimulation of cuff electrode. Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering. 25. 237-248. 10.3233/BME-151281.
---
[18]Nuccitelli R. 1988. Ionic currents in morphogenesis. Experientia 44:657–666.
[19] Nuccitelli R. 1990. The vibrating probe technique for studies of ion transport. In Noninvasive Techniques in Cell Biology, Eds. Foskett JK and Grinstein S, Wiley- Liss, New York, pp. 273–310.
Arthur Pilla Story and the Serendipitous Shift from Microcurrents to PEMF
In the 1970s clinicians were implanting electrodes in bone to provide direct electrical currents to treat non-union fracture. And during this time Arthur Pilla, an electrochemist, was traveling to San Diego for a conference (which included Robert O Becker as a guest speaker), and sat next to a guy on an airplane who was reviewing. It was said Arthur was so nosy that he was peaking at his seat mate's slides, and the seat mate was Andrew Bassett an orthopedic surgeon. Arthur saw something that was obvious to him as an electrochemist (dendritic outgrowth) - that's a process in electronics where the metal grows whiskers that causes it to short and he assumed Dr Bassett was going to the electrochemist meeting and the stranger said, "Nope that was bone growing from an electrode and he was going to very SAME orthopedic meeting.
So these two guys instantly hit it off, and Arthur travelled back to Bassett lab after the meetings, and proposed rather than surgically inserting the electrodes into both sides of a non-healing as Bassett and other orthopedics had been doing, they simply pulse an electromagnetic field from the outside. They studied this first on beagles, then humans with non-union fractures to get regulatory approval for the bone growth stimulator.
Originally bone electrodes were used and then Bassett developed PEMF that induces the healing currents WITHOUT the need of invasive electrodes. Pilla, Bassett and others demonstrated that fracture non-unions could be stimulated to heal using tiny electric and magnetic fields. In his last scientific paper, orthopedic surgeon and medical researcher C.A.L. Bassett explained:
Jump starting a car with a dead battery creates an operation machine; exposure of a nonunion to PEMF can convert a stalled healing process to active repair, even in patients unhealed for as long as 40 years! (Bassett 1995)
The scientific evidence is that PEMF therapy is effective because it conveys 'information' that triggers specific repair activities within the body. The currents induced in tissues by PEMF mimic the natural electrical activities created within bones during movement. Pulsing magnetic fields initiate a cascade of activities, from the cell membrane to the nucleus and on to the gene level, where specific changes take place. (Bassett 1995)
As a result of Bassett’s work, this waveform has been FDA approved in the United States since 1979 for the safe and effective treatment of non-union fractures and to aid in spinal fusion operations. To obtain this status many studies were done to document the success of PEMF, lack of side effects, and the mechanisms of energy field methods. The figure below shown here is the PEMF system developed by Bassett and his Colleagues using coils placed near a bone fracture to induce current flows through a fracture site.
Bassett CAL. Bioelectromagnetics in the service of medicine. Advances in Chemistry. 1995;250:261–276
add in
The FDA granted approval to Bassett’s bone stimulating device in 1979 for non-union bone fractures (even up to 40 years in one case). His original device for bone stimulation is still used to this day and still has FDA approved for non-union bone fractures (the same signal anyway, electronics are now upgraded). If you go to a good orthopedic surgeon with a non-union fracture, that surgeon very well may prescribe a PEMF device.
In the 1970s clinicians were implanting electrodes in bone to provide direct electrical currents to treat non-union fracture. And during this time Arthur Pilla, an electrochemist, was traveling to San Diego for a conference (which included Robert O Becker as a guest speaker), and sat next to a guy on an airplane who was reviewing. It was said Arthur was so nosy that he was peaking at his seat mate's slides, and the seat mate was Andrew Bassett an orthopedic surgeon. Arthur saw something that was obvious to him as an electrochemist (dendritic outgrowth) - that's a process in electronics where the metal grows whiskers that causes it to short and he assumed Dr Bassett was going to the electrochemist meeting and the stranger said, "Nope that was bone growing from an electrode and he was going to very SAME orthopedic meeting.
So these two guys instantly hit it off, and Arthur travelled back to Bassett lab after the meetings, and proposed rather than surgically inserting the electrodes into both sides of a non-healing as Bassett and other orthopedics had been doing, they simply pulse an electromagnetic field from the outside. They studied this first on beagles, then humans with non-union fractures to get regulatory approval for the bone growth stimulator.
Originally bone electrodes were used and then Bassett developed PEMF that induces the healing currents WITHOUT the need of invasive electrodes. Pilla, Bassett and others demonstrated that fracture non-unions could be stimulated to heal using tiny electric and magnetic fields. In his last scientific paper, orthopedic surgeon and medical researcher C.A.L. Bassett explained:
Jump starting a car with a dead battery creates an operation machine; exposure of a nonunion to PEMF can convert a stalled healing process to active repair, even in patients unhealed for as long as 40 years! (Bassett 1995)
The scientific evidence is that PEMF therapy is effective because it conveys 'information' that triggers specific repair activities within the body. The currents induced in tissues by PEMF mimic the natural electrical activities created within bones during movement. Pulsing magnetic fields initiate a cascade of activities, from the cell membrane to the nucleus and on to the gene level, where specific changes take place. (Bassett 1995)
As a result of Bassett’s work, this waveform has been FDA approved in the United States since 1979 for the safe and effective treatment of non-union fractures and to aid in spinal fusion operations. To obtain this status many studies were done to document the success of PEMF, lack of side effects, and the mechanisms of energy field methods. The figure below shown here is the PEMF system developed by Bassett and his Colleagues using coils placed near a bone fracture to induce current flows through a fracture site.
Bassett CAL. Bioelectromagnetics in the service of medicine. Advances in Chemistry. 1995;250:261–276
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The FDA granted approval to Bassett’s bone stimulating device in 1979 for non-union bone fractures (even up to 40 years in one case). His original device for bone stimulation is still used to this day and still has FDA approved for non-union bone fractures (the same signal anyway, electronics are now upgraded). If you go to a good orthopedic surgeon with a non-union fracture, that surgeon very well may prescribe a PEMF device.
The Benefits of High Slew Rate PEMF Therapy over Microcurrent Therapy [and electric field therapies].
Certainly using microcurrents that are close to the bodies endogenous bioelectrical amplitudes can stimulate regeneration and repair (though not whole limbs on us humans), but there is a better way as Arthur Pilla and Andrew Bassett discover - PEMF!
Unlike electric currents, the human body is transparent to magnetic fields, making PEMF superior to microcurrent therapy in many ways. Because magnetic fields are dipoles (and there are no magnetic monopoles), they cannot be blocked, shielded, or slowed down. PEMFs go through your body like wind blowing across an empty grassy field! I have conducted numerous tests with people lying on a PEMF, measuring the intensity at a precise distance above them, and then measuring the same distance above the mat with no one on it. The intensity is the SAME. No other form of electromagnetic energy passes through the body unimpeded, except for magnetic fields and pulsed magnetic fields.
Conversely, microcurrents, being conduction-based, are blocked by the skin and tissues through impedance/resistance, so they do not penetrate nearly as well as PEMF (hence why they need to be surgically implanted in deep tissue applications, such as bone fractures). Additionally, microcurrents can be rerouted away from the target area if there is a path of lower resistance, such as sweat, and they cannot cover as large a volume (or as evenly) as high slew rate PEMFs can through properly engineered, larger coils. Additionally, to cover a large area with microcurrent therapy, you need many electrodes on the bare skin (and a conductive gel applied). PEMF therapy is easy to use, even over clothing, casts, bandages, and other protective coverings, reaching deep tissues and lesions, and no messy gels are required. Finally, electrical stimulation or microcurrent therapy can be uncomfortable, as the electric currents are often irritating to the muscles and nerves, especially with higher-powered TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation). I have also noticed an uncomfortable feeling in high-powered PEMF devices when the power is too high.
A high slew rate PEMF full body mat device penetrates deeper. It covers a larger volume of tissue (and more uniformly) than conduction-based technologies such as TENS, Estim (Electrical stimulation), and other micro-current stimulation devices on the market. And with many whole body PEMF mat options available, you can apply PEMFs on the entire body at once, inducing healing microcurrents from head to toe! Also, there is at least one study showing that PEMF is more effective than TENS or electrical stimulation [94].
Certainly using microcurrents that are close to the bodies endogenous bioelectrical amplitudes can stimulate regeneration and repair (though not whole limbs on us humans), but there is a better way as Arthur Pilla and Andrew Bassett discover - PEMF!
Unlike electric currents, the human body is transparent to magnetic fields, making PEMF superior to microcurrent therapy in many ways. Because magnetic fields are dipoles (and there are no magnetic monopoles), they cannot be blocked, shielded, or slowed down. PEMFs go through your body like wind blowing across an empty grassy field! I have conducted numerous tests with people lying on a PEMF, measuring the intensity at a precise distance above them, and then measuring the same distance above the mat with no one on it. The intensity is the SAME. No other form of electromagnetic energy passes through the body unimpeded, except for magnetic fields and pulsed magnetic fields.
Conversely, microcurrents, being conduction-based, are blocked by the skin and tissues through impedance/resistance, so they do not penetrate nearly as well as PEMF (hence why they need to be surgically implanted in deep tissue applications, such as bone fractures). Additionally, microcurrents can be rerouted away from the target area if there is a path of lower resistance, such as sweat, and they cannot cover as large a volume (or as evenly) as high slew rate PEMFs can through properly engineered, larger coils. Additionally, to cover a large area with microcurrent therapy, you need many electrodes on the bare skin (and a conductive gel applied). PEMF therapy is easy to use, even over clothing, casts, bandages, and other protective coverings, reaching deep tissues and lesions, and no messy gels are required. Finally, electrical stimulation or microcurrent therapy can be uncomfortable, as the electric currents are often irritating to the muscles and nerves, especially with higher-powered TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation). I have also noticed an uncomfortable feeling in high-powered PEMF devices when the power is too high.
A high slew rate PEMF full body mat device penetrates deeper. It covers a larger volume of tissue (and more uniformly) than conduction-based technologies such as TENS, Estim (Electrical stimulation), and other micro-current stimulation devices on the market. And with many whole body PEMF mat options available, you can apply PEMFs on the entire body at once, inducing healing microcurrents from head to toe! Also, there is at least one study showing that PEMF is more effective than TENS or electrical stimulation [94].
High Slew Rate PEMF is 3D microcurrent therapy
One final advantage of PEMF over more general forms of microcurrent stimulation is that, when properly applied, high slew rate PEMF pulses are transformed into induced electrical signals that mimic known electrical signals within living tissues, utilizing the body's conductive pathways and electrolytes. Therefore, PEMF can utilize the native signal reception and amplification mechanisms within living cells/tissues, thereby requiring only extremely low stimulation energy to achieve the desired cellular response. So, PEMFs induce natural currents within the body, rather than adding artificial electrical currents via electrodes to the body (like TENS, Estim, etc.).
In our brief discussion of healing currents or injury currents, we noted that the body utilizes electrical microcurrents at various stages of the healing process. The fundamental reason we need a high slew rate PEMF is that it is what is required to induce a sufficiently high level of these therapeutic microcurrents, which are natural and native to the body. So, in a way, PEMF is just as much microcurrent therapy as it is magnetic therapy, if not more so. High slew rate (HSR) PEMF is essentially 3D microcurrent therapy, providing you with all the benefits of microcurrent therapy, but in a safer, deeper, and more effective way. I hypothesize that the slew rates research shows to be most effective (which we will explore next) are the ideal slew rates to mimic the body's natural healing microcurrents.
One final advantage of PEMF over more general forms of microcurrent stimulation is that, when properly applied, high slew rate PEMF pulses are transformed into induced electrical signals that mimic known electrical signals within living tissues, utilizing the body's conductive pathways and electrolytes. Therefore, PEMF can utilize the native signal reception and amplification mechanisms within living cells/tissues, thereby requiring only extremely low stimulation energy to achieve the desired cellular response. So, PEMFs induce natural currents within the body, rather than adding artificial electrical currents via electrodes to the body (like TENS, Estim, etc.).
In our brief discussion of healing currents or injury currents, we noted that the body utilizes electrical microcurrents at various stages of the healing process. The fundamental reason we need a high slew rate PEMF is that it is what is required to induce a sufficiently high level of these therapeutic microcurrents, which are natural and native to the body. So, in a way, PEMF is just as much microcurrent therapy as it is magnetic therapy, if not more so. High slew rate (HSR) PEMF is essentially 3D microcurrent therapy, providing you with all the benefits of microcurrent therapy, but in a safer, deeper, and more effective way. I hypothesize that the slew rates research shows to be most effective (which we will explore next) are the ideal slew rates to mimic the body's natural healing microcurrents.
We cannot regenerate a whole limb due to the size and complexity of a human versus a salamander, but we CAN regenerate the tip of a finger as this image shows, and a whole lot of other types of injuries as well!!
So it is sorta like the fountain of youth, or at least one of the best anti-aging tools you can utilize! I now want to briefly go over the 7 key ways PEMF helps the body to heal and regenerate from just about everything, some of this is a review of lesson 5, but the focus here is on stem cells, immunity and regeneration.
It seems that evolution has turned off radical forms of regeneration. But PEMF therapy can turn ON what evolution has turned off.
1) Increases cellular voltage
2) Stimulates ATP synthesis - Increases mitochondrial Regeneration
3) Microcirculation: Toxin Removal to clear and Nutrient Absorption to rebuild New Tissue
4) PEMF Increases Stem Cells
5) PEMF Increases immunity and macrophages
6) Anti-inflammatory
So it is sorta like the fountain of youth, or at least one of the best anti-aging tools you can utilize! I now want to briefly go over the 7 key ways PEMF helps the body to heal and regenerate from just about everything, some of this is a review of lesson 5, but the focus here is on stem cells, immunity and regeneration.
It seems that evolution has turned off radical forms of regeneration. But PEMF therapy can turn ON what evolution has turned off.
1) Increases cellular voltage
2) Stimulates ATP synthesis - Increases mitochondrial Regeneration
3) Microcirculation: Toxin Removal to clear and Nutrient Absorption to rebuild New Tissue
4) PEMF Increases Stem Cells
5) PEMF Increases immunity and macrophages
6) Anti-inflammatory
High Slew Rate PEMF Acts Like a Whole Body Battery Recharger
"Jump-starting a car with a dead battery creates an operational machine; exposure of a nonunion to PEMFs can convert a stalled healing process to active repair, even in patients unhealed for as long as 40 years! "
- Andrew Bassett
Through Faraday's law of induction, high slew rate (HSR) PEMF creates an EMF or voltage that charges your tissue and cells, much like wireless charging plates and pads charging your phone and other smart devices. It does this by driving charged particles (positive and negative ions, such as Na+, K+, Cl-, Ca++, Mg++, etc.) into small circuits in the organs, tissues, and, most importantly, around the cells (inside the electrons in copper wires, as in electronic devices). At the cellular level, these eddy currents circulate charges around the membranes in the cell and mitochondria (in ways that mimic exercise), which increases cellular voltage and ATP production and the body's overall bioelectricity! Indeed, life and health are driven by the flow and storage of electrical charge, and high-slew-rate PEMF acts like a whole-body battery recharger, recharging your 37 trillion cells. These healing microcurrents are fundamentally why PEMF works for almost everything from A to Z. Next, we will briefly summarize all the fundamental ways that high slew rate PEMF-induced microcurrents help to "jump start" healing and regeneration (as well as shutting off pain and inflammation). Below is a brief list of some of the most fundamental benefits of using a high slew rate PEMF device, and why it helps the body heal itself from just about anything. Again, the main goal of PEMF is to stimulate healing microcurrents, which requires a medium intensity/high slew rate! Low intensity PEMF is not enough [517,518], and high intensity is too much [82, 87-93,98].
Below is a list of the most fundamental mechanisms of High Slew Rate (HSR) PEMF which helps the body to heal itself of just about anything!
*Note: Just as the cell is surrounded by a plasma membrane, all our organs are bound by an outer epithelium, and indeed, the largest organ in our body, our skin, is a multi-layered epithelium. Transepithelial potential (TEP) of skin and organs is analogous to transmembrane potential (TMP). That is all our organs store electrical energy and have a measurable voltage.
**Note 2: PEMF can influence adult stem cells - More intensity is NOT better when it comes to stem cells [82].
"Jump-starting a car with a dead battery creates an operational machine; exposure of a nonunion to PEMFs can convert a stalled healing process to active repair, even in patients unhealed for as long as 40 years! "
- Andrew Bassett
Through Faraday's law of induction, high slew rate (HSR) PEMF creates an EMF or voltage that charges your tissue and cells, much like wireless charging plates and pads charging your phone and other smart devices. It does this by driving charged particles (positive and negative ions, such as Na+, K+, Cl-, Ca++, Mg++, etc.) into small circuits in the organs, tissues, and, most importantly, around the cells (inside the electrons in copper wires, as in electronic devices). At the cellular level, these eddy currents circulate charges around the membranes in the cell and mitochondria (in ways that mimic exercise), which increases cellular voltage and ATP production and the body's overall bioelectricity! Indeed, life and health are driven by the flow and storage of electrical charge, and high-slew-rate PEMF acts like a whole-body battery recharger, recharging your 37 trillion cells. These healing microcurrents are fundamentally why PEMF works for almost everything from A to Z. Next, we will briefly summarize all the fundamental ways that high slew rate PEMF-induced microcurrents help to "jump start" healing and regeneration (as well as shutting off pain and inflammation). Below is a brief list of some of the most fundamental benefits of using a high slew rate PEMF device, and why it helps the body heal itself from just about anything. Again, the main goal of PEMF is to stimulate healing microcurrents, which requires a medium intensity/high slew rate! Low intensity PEMF is not enough [517,518], and high intensity is too much [82, 87-93,98].
Below is a list of the most fundamental mechanisms of High Slew Rate (HSR) PEMF which helps the body to heal itself of just about anything!
- HSR PEMF increases electron flow in the mitochondria, leading to increased ATP energy [21-25] plus up to a 300-400% increase in mitochondrial density (mitochondrial biogenesis) [24, 71]
- HSR PEMF acts like a whole-body battery recharger, recharging cellular voltage or transmembrane potential (TMP) & bodily organ voltage (TEP*) [26-28]
- HSR PEMF acts as an exercise mimetic (emulates exercise), which creates movements of charges around the cells that mimic exercise, and which leads to pro-survival and cell protective signaling. Receptors on the cell membrane detect this movement of charge from a PEMF session as regular exercise (fluid moves just like in exercise) [29]
- HSR PEMF Increases cellular antioxidants, resiliency and protective factors - SOD, Catalase, Glutathione Peroxidase and HSP70, stimulates NRF2 pathway [30,31,83]
- HSR PEMF has a potent anti-inflammatory effect by increasing electron flows that quench free radicals and turn off inflammation [32-37]
- HSR PEMF increases energy & immunity around injured areas to stimulate wound healing, repair, and regeneration of bodily tissues [38-55]
- HSR PEMF stimulates the production of nitric oxide, which improves microcirculation, oxygenation, and enhanced lymphatic flow. It was confirmed by scientists from the Mayo clinic in a randomized clinical trial, that PEMF boosts Nitrous oxide and modulates blood pressure [56-70,84-86].
- HSR PEMF acts like whole body needle-less acupuncture, stimulating the flow of energy in the meridians [59-61]. (One study showed PEMF works better than acupuncture for pain relief [60]).
- HSR PEMF stimulates Bones/Collagen/Joints via the Piezoelectric effect, which mimics exercise (Wolff's Law). This helps to strengthen bones and joints! [61-66]
- HSR PEMF stimulates various growth factors and stem cells, leading to the creation of new healthy tissue, helping the Body to heal and regenerate from just about everything! [67-69,82].**
- HSR PEMF has a direct effect on RBC activity by increasing the charge on red blood cells. Properly charged red blood cells will repel from one another. Aside from preventing the Rouleaux effect, this separation of RBCs allows for a greater available surface area for oxygen and nutrients to be absorbed and exchanged. [72,73]
- HSR PEMF increases healthy electroporesis, which makes the cells more porous to allow more nutrients and oxygen in and waste products out. This is like helping the cells breathe better! [74-78]
*Note: Just as the cell is surrounded by a plasma membrane, all our organs are bound by an outer epithelium, and indeed, the largest organ in our body, our skin, is a multi-layered epithelium. Transepithelial potential (TEP) of skin and organs is analogous to transmembrane potential (TMP). That is all our organs store electrical energy and have a measurable voltage.
**Note 2: PEMF can influence adult stem cells - More intensity is NOT better when it comes to stem cells [82].
The Big Picture
So you can see the big picture of how PEMF works in the image here. First, a PEMF device generates a changing electrical signal, such as a square wave, which is then sent to the PEMF coils. Through Ampere's Law, this electrical current generates a magnetic field surrounding the coils, similar to the magnetic field surrounding a bar magnet. This is the original driving signal that is produced by the electronic circuit within the PEMF device. But because the signal pulses or changes with time, the magnetic field will vibrate and oscillate in ways that correspond to the source signal. To induce the desired electrical fields in tissue that mimic the body's natural healing or injury currents, it is essential to use a properly engineered high slew-rate signal. As we will see, this requires not only the right medium-intensity/high slew-rate signal but also proper coils for deep penetration.
The faster a signal changes with time (high slew rate), the more energy is transferred and the greater the biological effect until the biological response is at a maximum*. Fast-changing signals like square waves and sharp impulses induce more energy than slow-changing signals like sine waves. This induced EMF produces microcurrents in your cells, tissues, and organs, charging your body like a whole-body battery recharging plate. You can also think of high slew rate PEMF devices like 3D microcurrent therapy, where these induced healing microcurrents offer numerous benefits outlined in the previous section. We also showed several reasons why high slew rate PEMF works better and faster than traditional microcurrent therapies, such as TENS and Estim.
Important Note*: Research has shown with bone stimulation - even early on- that the induced field must be similar to the body's native bioelectricity or it will not work. That is, if the slew rate is too high (like to the point of making your muscles involuntarily twitch), there is too much induced microcurrent, and the healing process goes DOWN [82,87-93,98], and sometimes even makes things worse [89], so more is not better!
So you can see the big picture of how PEMF works in the image here. First, a PEMF device generates a changing electrical signal, such as a square wave, which is then sent to the PEMF coils. Through Ampere's Law, this electrical current generates a magnetic field surrounding the coils, similar to the magnetic field surrounding a bar magnet. This is the original driving signal that is produced by the electronic circuit within the PEMF device. But because the signal pulses or changes with time, the magnetic field will vibrate and oscillate in ways that correspond to the source signal. To induce the desired electrical fields in tissue that mimic the body's natural healing or injury currents, it is essential to use a properly engineered high slew-rate signal. As we will see, this requires not only the right medium-intensity/high slew-rate signal but also proper coils for deep penetration.
The faster a signal changes with time (high slew rate), the more energy is transferred and the greater the biological effect until the biological response is at a maximum*. Fast-changing signals like square waves and sharp impulses induce more energy than slow-changing signals like sine waves. This induced EMF produces microcurrents in your cells, tissues, and organs, charging your body like a whole-body battery recharging plate. You can also think of high slew rate PEMF devices like 3D microcurrent therapy, where these induced healing microcurrents offer numerous benefits outlined in the previous section. We also showed several reasons why high slew rate PEMF works better and faster than traditional microcurrent therapies, such as TENS and Estim.
Important Note*: Research has shown with bone stimulation - even early on- that the induced field must be similar to the body's native bioelectricity or it will not work. That is, if the slew rate is too high (like to the point of making your muscles involuntarily twitch), there is too much induced microcurrent, and the healing process goes DOWN [82,87-93,98], and sometimes even makes things worse [89], so more is not better!
Why I shifted to Medium Intensity High Slew Rate PEMF - The Fundamental Reason
Now that we have glimpsed many of the fundamental healing benefits of high slew rate PEMF and why it is superior to any type of microcurrent therapy, let us now look to PEMF research to uncover the best slew rate to use. Based on my deep dive into the science and research of PEMF over the past year and a half, the epiphany for me is that what best heals the body is not matching the PEMF intensity to the Earth, but rather the goal of PEMF should be inducing healing microcurrents that match or mimic the human body's natural bioelectricity or "healing currents." This requires a medium-intensity PEMF (10-100 Gauss) with a fast rise time, such as a square wave.
What excites me is that both research and physics support this! The research on both high slew rate PEMF and the body's natural bioelectrical healing currents, as well as the physics of Faraday's law of induction, which is essentially the slew rate. We'll explore the high slew rate studies in much detail next, but it is worth briefly mentioning that physics also supports the need for a high slew rate. You see, magnetic fields themselves do no work*, it is the induced electric fields that drives healing microcurrents. To create a sufficiently strong induced electric field to duplicate that body, we need a high slew rate PEMF signal, such as a square wave.
Now that we have glimpsed many of the fundamental healing benefits of high slew rate PEMF and why it is superior to any type of microcurrent therapy, let us now look to PEMF research to uncover the best slew rate to use. Based on my deep dive into the science and research of PEMF over the past year and a half, the epiphany for me is that what best heals the body is not matching the PEMF intensity to the Earth, but rather the goal of PEMF should be inducing healing microcurrents that match or mimic the human body's natural bioelectricity or "healing currents." This requires a medium-intensity PEMF (10-100 Gauss) with a fast rise time, such as a square wave.
What excites me is that both research and physics support this! The research on both high slew rate PEMF and the body's natural bioelectrical healing currents, as well as the physics of Faraday's law of induction, which is essentially the slew rate. We'll explore the high slew rate studies in much detail next, but it is worth briefly mentioning that physics also supports the need for a high slew rate. You see, magnetic fields themselves do no work*, it is the induced electric fields that drives healing microcurrents. To create a sufficiently strong induced electric field to duplicate that body, we need a high slew rate PEMF signal, such as a square wave.
Electromedicine is Rooted in the New Science of Bioelectricity
The Times They Are a-Changin'
But to quote Bob Dylan, "the Times They Are a-Changin'" as researchers like Michael Levin from Tufts University. Levin's copious peer-reviewed research [9-20] demonstrates that the human body communicates more fundamentally through electrical signaling than through chemical signaling, and healing and regeneration themselves have an electrical component. While bioelectricity in the heart, nervous system and brain has been measured and known since the 1920's, bioelectrical currents in other organs, cells and functions like regeneration, wound healing, cell to cell communication, etc. has gotten little attention up until the past few decades. Part of the reason only in the past few decades has technology been available to measure these currents like the vibrating probe, patch clamp/voltage clamp techniques, Dermacorder®, and voltage triggered staining techniques [2]. Also unlike standard molecular biology that studies biochemicals centrifugal from dead or nonliving samples, bioelectricity requires living cells and organisms, for bioelectricity is the spark of life and can only be seen and measured in life! Also bioelectricity changes our way that we think about electricity. Usually we think electrical currents flow through wires, but in living organisms like the human body, bioelectricity flows through ionic currents (ions in solution).
While there is much research in many different areas in the exciting new field of bioelectricity, we'll focus mainly on wound healing and regeneration.
[2] Nuccitelli R. 1990. The vibrating probe technique for studies of ion transport. In Noninvasive Techniques in Cell Biology, Eds. Foskett JK and Grinstein S, Wiley- Liss, New York, pp. 273–310.
The Times They Are a-Changin'
But to quote Bob Dylan, "the Times They Are a-Changin'" as researchers like Michael Levin from Tufts University. Levin's copious peer-reviewed research [9-20] demonstrates that the human body communicates more fundamentally through electrical signaling than through chemical signaling, and healing and regeneration themselves have an electrical component. While bioelectricity in the heart, nervous system and brain has been measured and known since the 1920's, bioelectrical currents in other organs, cells and functions like regeneration, wound healing, cell to cell communication, etc. has gotten little attention up until the past few decades. Part of the reason only in the past few decades has technology been available to measure these currents like the vibrating probe, patch clamp/voltage clamp techniques, Dermacorder®, and voltage triggered staining techniques [2]. Also unlike standard molecular biology that studies biochemicals centrifugal from dead or nonliving samples, bioelectricity requires living cells and organisms, for bioelectricity is the spark of life and can only be seen and measured in life! Also bioelectricity changes our way that we think about electricity. Usually we think electrical currents flow through wires, but in living organisms like the human body, bioelectricity flows through ionic currents (ions in solution).
While there is much research in many different areas in the exciting new field of bioelectricity, we'll focus mainly on wound healing and regeneration.
[2] Nuccitelli R. 1990. The vibrating probe technique for studies of ion transport. In Noninvasive Techniques in Cell Biology, Eds. Foskett JK and Grinstein S, Wiley- Liss, New York, pp. 273–310.
Wound healing - The Usual Story
After you injury any tissue in the body (say you cut your skin), there is an initial inflammatory response leading to the influx of macrophages and neutrophils, which release cytokines, growth factors, and nitric oxide, and induce nearby keratinocytes to migrate across the cut skin. While cytokines and growth factors can indeed stimulate keratinocyte migration that leads to healing of the skin, a much earlier stimulus not mentioned in most biology and medical textbooks, is energizing and guiding this whole process. This is a bioelectrical field which generates a directed flow of current towards the wound or site of injury.
This injury current, also called the healing current is the electric current from the central part of the body or organ, to the injured area. It turns out all your organs have a bioelectrical potential and store electrical energy much like a battery does. This flow of energy is what stimulates healing, as Robert Becker really brought to life with his frog and salamander experiments many decades ago. But where does this healing bioelectricity orginate from? To better understand that we first need to look at cellular energetics, because all our organs are made of hundreds of billions of cells.
After you injury any tissue in the body (say you cut your skin), there is an initial inflammatory response leading to the influx of macrophages and neutrophils, which release cytokines, growth factors, and nitric oxide, and induce nearby keratinocytes to migrate across the cut skin. While cytokines and growth factors can indeed stimulate keratinocyte migration that leads to healing of the skin, a much earlier stimulus not mentioned in most biology and medical textbooks, is energizing and guiding this whole process. This is a bioelectrical field which generates a directed flow of current towards the wound or site of injury.
This injury current, also called the healing current is the electric current from the central part of the body or organ, to the injured area. It turns out all your organs have a bioelectrical potential and store electrical energy much like a battery does. This flow of energy is what stimulates healing, as Robert Becker really brought to life with his frog and salamander experiments many decades ago. But where does this healing bioelectricity orginate from? To better understand that we first need to look at cellular energetics, because all our organs are made of hundreds of billions of cells.
Injury Currents, Wound Currents,
Most Tissues/Transcellular Current Densities 1-10 µA/cm^2, Skin 10-100 µA/cm^2
( Nuccitelli , 1988 , 1990 )
Research healing 200-800 uA (.2 to .8 mA). Muscle twitching 10x too high.
Body 5-500 µA??
Endogenous electric fields = 40-200 V/m (40-200 mV/mm)
Muscle Twitch (Amps 3x Amps/cm^2
5 - 15 mA twich = 5100 to 15,000 uA. (8-75 times too high vs healing)
1700 to 2000 µA/cm^2 (20 to 2000 times too high)
1000s of V/m
Values of electric current ranging from 2 to 20 μA/cm2 are considered optimal for stimulation of osteogenesis
(makes sense because bones 1-10 µA/cm^2)
under 2 μA/cm2 are ineffective, while currents of over 50 μA/cm2 necrosis
10-1000uA 300-500% increase ATP
3-300 uA/cm^2
(makes sense, body in this range)
The resting potential of the skin varies from place to place and is in the range of 20–200 mV with the inside positive.
TEP most organs 15-60 mV.
Most Tissues/Transcellular Current Densities 1-10 µA/cm^2, Skin 10-100 µA/cm^2
( Nuccitelli , 1988 , 1990 )
Research healing 200-800 uA (.2 to .8 mA). Muscle twitching 10x too high.
Body 5-500 µA??
Endogenous electric fields = 40-200 V/m (40-200 mV/mm)
Muscle Twitch (Amps 3x Amps/cm^2
5 - 15 mA twich = 5100 to 15,000 uA. (8-75 times too high vs healing)
1700 to 2000 µA/cm^2 (20 to 2000 times too high)
1000s of V/m
Values of electric current ranging from 2 to 20 μA/cm2 are considered optimal for stimulation of osteogenesis
(makes sense because bones 1-10 µA/cm^2)
under 2 μA/cm2 are ineffective, while currents of over 50 μA/cm2 necrosis
10-1000uA 300-500% increase ATP
3-300 uA/cm^2
(makes sense, body in this range)
The resting potential of the skin varies from place to place and is in the range of 20–200 mV with the inside positive.
TEP most organs 15-60 mV.
The Human Biofield
Energy Fields Organize Morphogenesis:
- Hans Spemann, 1921
- Alexander Gurwitsch, 1922
- Harold Saxon Burr, 1972
- Michael Levin, 2003
- Paul Weiss, 1923
- Robert Becker 1985
- Rupert Sheldrake 1988
Note on Energy Fields: Classical Electromagnetism (not the whole story)...Need to be aware of the Quantum Story (QED, Quantum Electrodynamics).
These fields were called:
- Biofield (Currently most accepted term)
- Developmental Fields
- Embryonic Fields
- Morphogenetic Fields
- Mitogenic Fields
- L-fields
All kinds of Devices the Measure and Map the Biofield
Connective Tissue Matrix PROVEN to be carrier of biophotons and physical proof of meridians/nadis. Glands are the anchoring points for Chakras/Dan Tiens.
We know the nerves conduct electricity and the moving ions in blood and plasma do as well. When you have moving charges you ALWAYS have an electrical current, and with an electrical current by Amperes law (or more accurately Maxwell's equations you will always have an electric and magnetic field that extends infinitely into space. This is science. So why is it so hard for mainstream science to accept the idea of a biofield? For More See Chapter 2 and 3 in my book.
Measuring and Visualizing the Human Biofield (My First Aura Photo was Back in 1997).
Modern Medicine
Electrocardiogram (EKG), Electroencephalogram (EEG), Electromyogram (EMG)
SQUID - Magnetocardiograph (MCG), Magnetoencephalograph (MEG)
PET Scans , MRI's and CAT scans Xrays MAINLY measure the physical body, NOT the biofield, BUT EKG/EEG & MCG/MEG DO measure the electrical and Magnetic activity of the body.
1) Aura Types
Aura Photography
GDV - Gas Discharge Visualization/UV camera - corona discharge
Biofield viewer system
Many Others
2) EAV/EDS Types - Electroacupuncture/Electrodermal Screening
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Electodermal Screening (EDS)**
Neuro biofeedback
Many Others
3) Thermal imaging/infrared thermography.
4) Sound Level Meter
Audio Recordings of the Aura (Valerie Hunt UCLA) - Much See Video Below!!
5) Clairvoyants and Intuitives (Barbara Brennan, Donna Eden, Penney Pierce, Edgar Cayce, Carolyn Myss, Sylvia Brown, Charles Leadbeater and Many others). Also Pranic Healing + Other Resources
**The testing procedure was originally known as electroacupuncture according to Voll (EAV), but is now called by many other names including electrodermal screening (EDS), electrodermal testing (EDT), bioelectric functions diagnosis (BFD), bio resonance therapy (BRT)
Energy Fields Organize Morphogenesis:
- Hans Spemann, 1921
- Alexander Gurwitsch, 1922
- Harold Saxon Burr, 1972
- Michael Levin, 2003
- Paul Weiss, 1923
- Robert Becker 1985
- Rupert Sheldrake 1988
Note on Energy Fields: Classical Electromagnetism (not the whole story)...Need to be aware of the Quantum Story (QED, Quantum Electrodynamics).
These fields were called:
- Biofield (Currently most accepted term)
- Developmental Fields
- Embryonic Fields
- Morphogenetic Fields
- Mitogenic Fields
- L-fields
All kinds of Devices the Measure and Map the Biofield
Connective Tissue Matrix PROVEN to be carrier of biophotons and physical proof of meridians/nadis. Glands are the anchoring points for Chakras/Dan Tiens.
We know the nerves conduct electricity and the moving ions in blood and plasma do as well. When you have moving charges you ALWAYS have an electrical current, and with an electrical current by Amperes law (or more accurately Maxwell's equations you will always have an electric and magnetic field that extends infinitely into space. This is science. So why is it so hard for mainstream science to accept the idea of a biofield? For More See Chapter 2 and 3 in my book.
Measuring and Visualizing the Human Biofield (My First Aura Photo was Back in 1997).
Modern Medicine
Electrocardiogram (EKG), Electroencephalogram (EEG), Electromyogram (EMG)
SQUID - Magnetocardiograph (MCG), Magnetoencephalograph (MEG)
PET Scans , MRI's and CAT scans Xrays MAINLY measure the physical body, NOT the biofield, BUT EKG/EEG & MCG/MEG DO measure the electrical and Magnetic activity of the body.
1) Aura Types
Aura Photography
GDV - Gas Discharge Visualization/UV camera - corona discharge
Biofield viewer system
Many Others
2) EAV/EDS Types - Electroacupuncture/Electrodermal Screening
Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Electodermal Screening (EDS)**
Neuro biofeedback
Many Others
3) Thermal imaging/infrared thermography.
4) Sound Level Meter
Audio Recordings of the Aura (Valerie Hunt UCLA) - Much See Video Below!!
5) Clairvoyants and Intuitives (Barbara Brennan, Donna Eden, Penney Pierce, Edgar Cayce, Carolyn Myss, Sylvia Brown, Charles Leadbeater and Many others). Also Pranic Healing + Other Resources
**The testing procedure was originally known as electroacupuncture according to Voll (EAV), but is now called by many other names including electrodermal screening (EDS), electrodermal testing (EDT), bioelectric functions diagnosis (BFD), bio resonance therapy (BRT)
Some Concluding Thoughts
Biology and Medicine Needs to Catch Up With Physics.
Start with the body is not just mostly non-physical, it is not physical AT ALL! This is the truth from Quantum Field Theory.
Biology and Medicine Needs to Catch Up With Physics.
Start with the body is not just mostly non-physical, it is not physical AT ALL! This is the truth from Quantum Field Theory.
Introduction
The Most Important Parameter in PEMF
From Earth Magnetism and Resonance to Healing Microcurrents and Slew Rate
My Epiphany
Chapter 1: Slew Rate: Important Parameter in PEMF Therapy
Chapter 2: The Body Electric and High Slew Rate PEMF as Whole Body Battery Recharger
Chapter 3: What is the Best Signal to Create a High Slew Rate?
Chapter 4: PEMF Coils and Applicators - The Second Most Important Thing in PEMF
Chapter 5: What is the Best Intensity to Use in PEMF Therapy?
Chapter 6: Exposing High Intensity PEMF Myths and Misinformation
Chapter 7: Frequency and Resonance in PEMF Therapy
Chapter 8: EMF/Electrosmog vs PEMF Therapy
Chapter 9: How to Properly Engineer a PEMF Device
Chapter 10: The Biggest Scam in the PEMF Industry - Chinese Crystal Mats
My First Experience, one of these companies using phony review sites.
Chapter 11: Other Factors To Consider when shopping for a PEMF mat
Putting it all together and shopping with Knowledge.
Summarize Main things to Look for and Main things to Avoid
Chapter 12: Getting the Most out of your PEMF device
Chapter 13: Troubleshooting, Precautions and Contraindications
Chapter 14: The Healing Benefits of PEMF treated water
Chapter 15: Other Recommendations and Conclusion
Appendix A: My Experiences of Using High Slew Rate PEMF for over a year
Appendix B: Dr Pawluk's High Intensity Myths Exposed
2023 study finding about 36 trillion in an average adult male and 28 trillion in an average adult female
1700 to 2000 µA/cm^2 (vs 1-100 µA/cm^2 in body)
5 to 15 mA
1000s V/m to Induce Fasiculations
Only High Intensity PEMF causes Fasiculation (>1000 Gauss or 100 mT)
17 to 20 A/m² are sufficient to cause muscle fasciculate
1700 to 2000 µA/cm^2
100x less = 17-20 µA/cm^2
Taghipour, Hamed & Frounchi, Javad & Ahmadiasl, Nasser & Shahabi, Parviz & Salekzamani, Yaghoub. (2015). Effect of contacts configuration and location on selective stimulation of cuff electrode. Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering. 25. 237-248. 10.3233/BME-151281.
In a lab setting, the threshold stimulus at which a twitch is first visible can range from 5 to 15 mA (5000-15,000 uA
Research healing 200-800 uA (.2 to .8 mA). Muscle twitching 10x too high.
High intensity PEMF that makes your muscle involuntarily twitch (or fasiculate) induces Currents 20-2000 Times the bodies natural endogenous currents.
Human Tissues 1-100 µA/cm^2
is the currents that flow both within and between cells . Transcellular current densities are in the range of 1-10 µA / cm² (including bone), and epithelial current densities are in the range of 10-100 μA / cm² ( Nuccitelli , 1988 , 1990 ) .
Nuccitelli R. 1988. Ionic currents in morphogenesis. Experientia 44:657–666.
Nuccitelli R. 1990. The vibrating probe technique for studies of ion transport. In Noninvasive Techniques in Cell Biology, Eds. Foskett JK and Grinstein S, Wiley- Liss, New York, pp. 273–310.
Endogenous electric fields = 40-200 V/m
The therapeutic effectiveness of the continuous electric current depends on its intensity. Values of electric current ranging from 2 to 20 μA/cm2 are considered optimal for stimulation of osteogenesis
Values of applied current below 2 μA/cm2 are ineffective, while currents of over 50 μA/cm2 may cause necrosis of the tissue. For this reason, the apparatus employed in clinical practice is limited in tension (typically below 2.3 V). 2-20 uA/cm2 is optimal.
Friedenberg ZB, Andrews ET, Smolenski BI, Pearl BW, Brighton CT. Bone reaction to varying amounts of direct current. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1970;131(5):894–9.
The electric field within the tissue ranges from 1 to 100 mV/cm. The density of the electric current produced in the tissue varies between 0.5 and 50 μA/cm2
(Brighton et al. 1985)
5 - 15 mA twich = 5000 to 15,000 uA.
Cheng 1982 - 10-1000uA 300-500% increase ATP
Ultra high voltage in cellular signaling for cell death.
Nanosecond voltage pulses.
Electroporation. Make electric fields strong enough to push water molecules (water polar)
400 mV (bilayer) , strong enough to push water through. Lipid bilayer has a leak.
10-100 microns... 1000 V/cm (permeabilize).
Mitochrondria need a larger field to generate that 1/2 volt
need 20,000-30,000 V/cm. Need nanosecond pulses to reduce heat.
Permeabilize mitochondria... 200 mV across membrane to drive - proton gradient and an electric field
that make the ATP. Make it leaky, cannot make ATP.
This is all so groundbreaking, it is shocking (pun intended) that this is not taught in medical school!
Even though the FDA approved the first PEMF device for treating non-union fractures, the science of PEMF therapy and electromedicine was slow to catch on. But a constant barrage of research studies on both bioelectricity and its many applications to human health and healing is making both the body electric and energy medicine solid and research backed areas of modern academia. But there is still a long way to go. While it is understood and taught in medical textbooks that the nervous system/brain , muscles and the heart have a fundamental electrical component (measured by EEGs, EMGs and EKGs, respectively), modern medicine still uses outdated Newtonian physics, steam engine thermodynamics and billiard ball chemistry (diffusion/random walk, etc.), molecular signaling and genetic determinism for describing most biological functions like embryology, immunity, repair, healing, and regeneration. Even in modern anatomy and physiology textbooks, the human body is stripped of the rich tapestry of bioelectric, biomagnetic, and biophotonic energies that can and have been measured for decades.
So why were electrical currents effective in healing fractures (and other tissues)? Two hundred years after Luigi Galvani made dead frog legs temporarily dance with electricity, Robert O. Becker (author of the Body Electric) discovered that Salamanders (close genetic cousins of frogs) can re-grow eyes, jaws, limbs, ovaries, and portions of their heart and brain BECAUSE of their high levels of bioelectricity following an injury or amputation. What Becker found was that amputated salamanders have a much stronger voltage and bioelectrical currents at the injury site than amputated frog legs (a close genetic cousin). It was as if the salamander stump of a severed limb acted like a live wire, and it was this bioelectricity that was the driving force of regeneration. Becker proposed that bioelectricity, or an organism's own electrical fields, plays a crucial role in healing and regeneration processes.
Andrew Bassett and Robert Becker in a 1962 collaborative study further prove the Japanese claim and confirm bone is negatively charged in areas of compression and positively charged in areas of tension.
In 1970, Alan Dwyer of Australia uses an implanted bone growth stimulator to successfully treat failed posterior lumbrosacral fusions, and a longstanding tibial non-union.
In 1974, Andrew Basset publishes his research on a totally non-invasive system to produce fracture healing using pulsed electromagnetic fields.
In 1979, the FDA approves the first PEMF stimulation device for treatment of non-unions. The semi-portable device runs on AC current from a standard household receptacle.
The Most Important Parameter in PEMF
From Earth Magnetism and Resonance to Healing Microcurrents and Slew Rate
My Epiphany
Chapter 1: Slew Rate: Important Parameter in PEMF Therapy
Chapter 2: The Body Electric and High Slew Rate PEMF as Whole Body Battery Recharger
Chapter 3: What is the Best Signal to Create a High Slew Rate?
Chapter 4: PEMF Coils and Applicators - The Second Most Important Thing in PEMF
Chapter 5: What is the Best Intensity to Use in PEMF Therapy?
Chapter 6: Exposing High Intensity PEMF Myths and Misinformation
Chapter 7: Frequency and Resonance in PEMF Therapy
Chapter 8: EMF/Electrosmog vs PEMF Therapy
Chapter 9: How to Properly Engineer a PEMF Device
Chapter 10: The Biggest Scam in the PEMF Industry - Chinese Crystal Mats
My First Experience, one of these companies using phony review sites.
Chapter 11: Other Factors To Consider when shopping for a PEMF mat
Putting it all together and shopping with Knowledge.
Summarize Main things to Look for and Main things to Avoid
Chapter 12: Getting the Most out of your PEMF device
Chapter 13: Troubleshooting, Precautions and Contraindications
Chapter 14: The Healing Benefits of PEMF treated water
Chapter 15: Other Recommendations and Conclusion
Appendix A: My Experiences of Using High Slew Rate PEMF for over a year
Appendix B: Dr Pawluk's High Intensity Myths Exposed
2023 study finding about 36 trillion in an average adult male and 28 trillion in an average adult female
1700 to 2000 µA/cm^2 (vs 1-100 µA/cm^2 in body)
5 to 15 mA
1000s V/m to Induce Fasiculations
Only High Intensity PEMF causes Fasiculation (>1000 Gauss or 100 mT)
17 to 20 A/m² are sufficient to cause muscle fasciculate
1700 to 2000 µA/cm^2
100x less = 17-20 µA/cm^2
Taghipour, Hamed & Frounchi, Javad & Ahmadiasl, Nasser & Shahabi, Parviz & Salekzamani, Yaghoub. (2015). Effect of contacts configuration and location on selective stimulation of cuff electrode. Bio-Medical Materials and Engineering. 25. 237-248. 10.3233/BME-151281.
In a lab setting, the threshold stimulus at which a twitch is first visible can range from 5 to 15 mA (5000-15,000 uA
Research healing 200-800 uA (.2 to .8 mA). Muscle twitching 10x too high.
High intensity PEMF that makes your muscle involuntarily twitch (or fasiculate) induces Currents 20-2000 Times the bodies natural endogenous currents.
Human Tissues 1-100 µA/cm^2
is the currents that flow both within and between cells . Transcellular current densities are in the range of 1-10 µA / cm² (including bone), and epithelial current densities are in the range of 10-100 μA / cm² ( Nuccitelli , 1988 , 1990 ) .
Nuccitelli R. 1988. Ionic currents in morphogenesis. Experientia 44:657–666.
Nuccitelli R. 1990. The vibrating probe technique for studies of ion transport. In Noninvasive Techniques in Cell Biology, Eds. Foskett JK and Grinstein S, Wiley- Liss, New York, pp. 273–310.
Endogenous electric fields = 40-200 V/m
The therapeutic effectiveness of the continuous electric current depends on its intensity. Values of electric current ranging from 2 to 20 μA/cm2 are considered optimal for stimulation of osteogenesis
Values of applied current below 2 μA/cm2 are ineffective, while currents of over 50 μA/cm2 may cause necrosis of the tissue. For this reason, the apparatus employed in clinical practice is limited in tension (typically below 2.3 V). 2-20 uA/cm2 is optimal.
Friedenberg ZB, Andrews ET, Smolenski BI, Pearl BW, Brighton CT. Bone reaction to varying amounts of direct current. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1970;131(5):894–9.
The electric field within the tissue ranges from 1 to 100 mV/cm. The density of the electric current produced in the tissue varies between 0.5 and 50 μA/cm2
(Brighton et al. 1985)
5 - 15 mA twich = 5000 to 15,000 uA.
Cheng 1982 - 10-1000uA 300-500% increase ATP
Ultra high voltage in cellular signaling for cell death.
Nanosecond voltage pulses.
Electroporation. Make electric fields strong enough to push water molecules (water polar)
400 mV (bilayer) , strong enough to push water through. Lipid bilayer has a leak.
10-100 microns... 1000 V/cm (permeabilize).
Mitochrondria need a larger field to generate that 1/2 volt
need 20,000-30,000 V/cm. Need nanosecond pulses to reduce heat.
Permeabilize mitochondria... 200 mV across membrane to drive - proton gradient and an electric field
that make the ATP. Make it leaky, cannot make ATP.
This is all so groundbreaking, it is shocking (pun intended) that this is not taught in medical school!
Even though the FDA approved the first PEMF device for treating non-union fractures, the science of PEMF therapy and electromedicine was slow to catch on. But a constant barrage of research studies on both bioelectricity and its many applications to human health and healing is making both the body electric and energy medicine solid and research backed areas of modern academia. But there is still a long way to go. While it is understood and taught in medical textbooks that the nervous system/brain , muscles and the heart have a fundamental electrical component (measured by EEGs, EMGs and EKGs, respectively), modern medicine still uses outdated Newtonian physics, steam engine thermodynamics and billiard ball chemistry (diffusion/random walk, etc.), molecular signaling and genetic determinism for describing most biological functions like embryology, immunity, repair, healing, and regeneration. Even in modern anatomy and physiology textbooks, the human body is stripped of the rich tapestry of bioelectric, biomagnetic, and biophotonic energies that can and have been measured for decades.
So why were electrical currents effective in healing fractures (and other tissues)? Two hundred years after Luigi Galvani made dead frog legs temporarily dance with electricity, Robert O. Becker (author of the Body Electric) discovered that Salamanders (close genetic cousins of frogs) can re-grow eyes, jaws, limbs, ovaries, and portions of their heart and brain BECAUSE of their high levels of bioelectricity following an injury or amputation. What Becker found was that amputated salamanders have a much stronger voltage and bioelectrical currents at the injury site than amputated frog legs (a close genetic cousin). It was as if the salamander stump of a severed limb acted like a live wire, and it was this bioelectricity that was the driving force of regeneration. Becker proposed that bioelectricity, or an organism's own electrical fields, plays a crucial role in healing and regeneration processes.
Andrew Bassett and Robert Becker in a 1962 collaborative study further prove the Japanese claim and confirm bone is negatively charged in areas of compression and positively charged in areas of tension.
In 1970, Alan Dwyer of Australia uses an implanted bone growth stimulator to successfully treat failed posterior lumbrosacral fusions, and a longstanding tibial non-union.
In 1974, Andrew Basset publishes his research on a totally non-invasive system to produce fracture healing using pulsed electromagnetic fields.
In 1979, the FDA approves the first PEMF stimulation device for treatment of non-unions. The semi-portable device runs on AC current from a standard household receptacle.