In PEMF – Intensity and Frequency Go Hand in Hand
Virtually all serious studies of PEMF have shown that a frequency or frequencies below 50 Hz are the most effective.
Intensity and frequency go hand in hand to provide the two most important factors associated with Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMFT). As someone said, like love and marriage, you can’t have one without the other!
Back in 1994, R.E.M. wondered “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” I wonder if they ever figured it out? I have placed the lyrics to that song at the bottom of this post for those so inclined to explore further.
What is frequency?
I was born in the first half of the last century and when I was much younger, the term Hz or Hertz was not part of the language. Frequency was stated in CPS or Cycles Per Second. That term ‘Cycles Per Second’ was self-explanatory. The lords of science decided to honor Dr. Heinrich Hertz. This introduced ambiguity and confusion to the world of newbies to the world of physics and many of those trying to understand PEMF. Anyway, One Hertz or 1.0 Hz is one cycle per second. In the USA, the electricity in our homes is oscillating at 60 Hz or sixty times per second. I did read somewhere that the term was actually adopted n the 1930’s, it took many years for the term Hertz to be universally adopted.
I will repeat myself. Frequency is measured in Hertz or “CPS” Cycles Per Second. We now call “CPS”, “Hertz” (abbreviated Hz). CPS was the term I learned in my youth but today, we use the term Hz named after Heinrich Hertz who had nothing to do with car rental.
Frequency is the inverse of wavelength. As wavelength increases, frequency decreases and vice versa. Virtually all effective PEMF systems use low frequencies and long wavelengths – from 1 Hz to 50 Hz.
Our cells and organs react differently to different frequencies, in the same way, that different materials resonate to different frequencies. When I was a teenager, many years ago, my dad worked with Pratt and Whitney in the engineering department responsible for the PT-6 Gas Turbine Engine. One of the things they did was look for resonances of turbine blades and other engine parts to ensure that the rotating turbines did not spend much time at a resonant frequency. To do this, they used a powerful sound generating amplifier. I recall that their sound generators could create power levels over 10 kW and would drive a ceramic loudspeaker or transducer to cause various engine parts to resonate. They used a high-speed camera system they would watch the engine parts while the frequency of the sound was slowly swept or varied. I was there one day with my pop and got to see turbine blades explode with some extreme noise and violence when they were held at their resonant frequency. It was cool to witness but I can now understand why engine control systems will not allow the engines to operate at certain rotational speeds to prevent major engine failure.
Think about those exploding wine glasses when subjected to some operatic singers.
YES! Wine Glasses Break when subjected to the correct frequency and power.
My dad, he took me to work many times when I was a kid, and I managed to see technology at work. This is one of the things that sparked my interest in many technologies and gave me the ability to truly be a jack of all trades and master of none. [Thanks, Dad]
Our cells and organs are resonant or react to different frequencies, fortunately in a positive way.
In the Curatron 2000 Systems, the frequency is changed every five or six minutes so that the cell or organ does not become too accustomed to the same frequency.
The frequency ranges specified for most pulsed electromagnetic field therapy devices range between 1 Hz to more than 1000 Hz. Many independent studies done during the last 30 years clearly indicate that frequencies which are beneficial for human applications are mainly between 1 and 50 Hz.
Electromagnetic pulsing frequencies above 100-200 Hz quickly decrease in their ability to contribute to the beneficial effects of PEMF on cells and bones.
Because all the frequencies present in all Therapeutic PEMF systems provide non-ionizing energy, they do not cause the body any harm!
It is still unclear which exact frequencies relates to specific diseases, body functions, cells, and bones. Some authorities suggest that frequencies in the range of 1-15 Hz are more important, while others prefer frequencies in the 10-50 Hz range. This is the reason why the Curatron 2000 Systems offer a pulsed frequency range of 1-50 Hz to include virtually all possibilities.
Frequency ranges used in PEMF devices vary widely, but before going into more details and explanations about the differences between the various pulsed electromagnetic therapy systems, let us first find out what pulsing frequencies are.
As the name pulsed electromagnetic field therapy implies, magnetic energy is transferred into the body using pulsing the energy with a repetition rate called frequency. As we said above, frequency is expressed as how many pulses or cycles per second are generated by the device.
The image to our right shows the differences between various frequencies: the more waves you see during the same time window, the higher the frequency is. The frequency of the lowest purple wave is 4 times higher than the wave shown at the top of the graphic.
The frequency ranges specified for pulsed electromagnetic field therapy devices range between 1 Hz to more than 1000 Hz. Many independent studies completed over the last 30 years indicate that frequencies which are beneficial for human applications are mainly between 1 and 50 Hz. Electromagnetic pulsing frequencies above 100-200 Hz quickly decrease in their ability to contribute to the beneficial effects of PEMF on our cells and bones and show similar effects as in the picture of the intensity decrease on the previous page.
The Gurus Disagree or Simply Don’t Agree.
It is still unclear which exact frequencies relate to specific diseases, body functions, cells, and bones. Some mavens suggest that frequencies in the range of 1-15 Hz are more important, while others prefer frequencies in the 10-50 Hz range. This is the reason why the Curatron systems offer a pulsed frequency range of 1-50 Hz to include all possibilities.
The song by REM has little or nothing to do with this post but it was fun to revive a memory anyway.
What’s the frequency, Kenneth? (R.E.M. 1994)
What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
I was brain-dead, locked out, numb, not up to speed
I thought I’d pegged you an idiot’s dream
Tunnel vision from the outsider’s screen
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
I’d studied your cartoons, radio, music, TV, movies, magazines
Richard said, “Withdrawal in disgust is not the same as apathy”
A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
“What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” is your Benzedrine, uh-huh
Butterfly decal, rear-view mirror, dogging the scene
You smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth
You said that irony was the shackles of youth
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I never understood the frequency, uh-huh
You wore our expectations like an armored suit, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
You said that irony was the shackles of youth, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
You wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh
I couldn’t understand
I never understood, don’t f**k with me, uh-huh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWkMhCLkVOg