Utilizing Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy (Diapulse®) for Drug-Free Pain Management to Eliminate Reliance on Opioids for Non-Malignant Chronic Pain: A literature Review and Proposal for Pilot Study

Abstract

The Federal and State governments have declared the presence of an opioid addiction pandemic in the United States claiming the lives of more than 55,000 in 2015 (Rudd RA, Seth P, David F and Scholl L. 2016). The pharmaceutical manufacturers of the numerous FDA-approved opioid drugs are raking in more than $5 billion per year with about 2 million chronic pain sufferers addicted. The irony of this narcotic use and abuse conundrum is the existence of evidence-based technology for drug-free pain management which is not covered for reimbursement among public and private third-party payers. Therefore, this paper is presented to propose a pilot study to demonstrate the effi cacy of resolving the chronic infl ammation, edema and ischemia that causes nonmalignant chronic pain with PEMF therapy, a non-invasive, non-thermal radio transmission of electrical impulses, thereby invalidating the legitimacy of prescribing opioid analgesics in such cases. Review Article Utilizing Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy (Diapulse®) for DrugFree Pain Management to Eliminate Reliance on Opioids for Non-Malignant Chronic Pain: A literature Review and Proposal for Pilot Study