Advances in Electromagnetic Therapy for Wound Healing

Abstract

Understanding the molecular basis of wound healing and tissue regeneration continues to remain as one of the major challenges in modern medicine. Wound healing is a complex procedure involving various cellular mechanism. Though high frequency electromagnetic fields are reported to cause cancer, birth defects and DNA damage, electromagnetic field at low intensity and low frequency can be effectively used for wound healing and for many more medical applications. Low intensity-low frequency pulsed electromagnetic therapy is evidenced to have a significant impact on wound repair and regeneration. It provides a non-invasive reparative technique to treat an injury. In vitro studies reported a significant effect of electromagnetic field on neovascularisation and angiogenesis. There are also many pieces of evidence which support its efficiency in reducing the duration of wound healing and improving the tensile strength of scars. Here, we compared the traditional stigma associated with pulsed electromagnetic fields and weighed them with its potential therapeutic effect on wound healing. Furthermore, emphasised the need for more focused research to determine the therapeutic strategies and optimised parameters of pulsed electromagnetic field that can assure efficient wound healing and regeneration.