Table 6 Characteristics of included trials of pulsed electromagnetic fields for pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis
First author, publication year | Intervention type, treatment sessions and period | No of patients on active therapy (n = 255) | Method quality | Mean baseline pain (mm VAS) | Best mean difference (95% CI) of change over placebo (mm VAS) | Outcome assessment timepoints (weeks, best time point in bold) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Callaghan-05 | SWT, 3 sessions/week, 6 sessions total, output 20 W in 20 minutes, 400 Hz, treatment dose 24 kJ | 9 | 5 | 65.0 | 15.0 (-12.7 to 42.7) | 2 |
Jacobson – 01 | PEMF, 8 sessions, 1–8 Hz, 3 × 10-7G | 101 | 3 | 63.3 | 7.9 (0.8 to 15.4) | 2, 4 |
Nicolakis-02 | PEMF 30 min daily, 6 weeks, 40 mT 1–3000 Hz | 15 | 4 | 34.6 | 10.8 (-3.5 to 25.1) | 6 |
Pipitone-01 | PEMF 30 min daily, 6 weeks, 3–20 Hz, <0.5 Gauss | 34 | 5 | - | 2.0 (-5.8 to 9.7) | 6 |
Thamsborg-05 | PEMF, 2 h daily for 6 weeks, 10 mV, 50 Hz | 42 | 5 | 52.6 | 0.3 (-7.7 to 7.9) | 2, 6, 12 |
Trock-93 | PEMF, 15 Gauss, <30 Hz, 30 min 3–5 times/week, total 18 sessions | 14 | 4 | 76.5 | 31.0 (11.0 to 51.0) | 2,4, 8 |
Trock-94 | PEMF, 15 Gauss, <30 Hz, 30 min 3–5 times/week, total 18 sessions | 40 | 5 | 70.7 | 14.6 (0.9 to 28.3) | 2, 4, 8 |
Best within 4 weeks | 209 | 6.9† (2.2 to 11.6) | ||||
6 weeks | 91 | 1.0 (-4.1 to 6.0) | ||||
8 weeks | 47 | 19.8 (7.1 to 32.5) | ||||
12 weeks | 42 | -2.4 (-10.1 to 5.3) | ||||
Pooled 6–12 weeks | 180 | 4.8 (-2.2 to 11.8) | ||||
Total | 255 | 4.4* | 63.7† | 3.2* |