Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis. It is defined as a joint disease that touches hands, hips, knees, neck and lower back and it can cause pain and even disability when it is severe.
WOUND HEALING
WOUND HEALING WITH THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD
A new therapeutic treatment is suggested to accelerate wound healing to non-diabetics, diabetics patients and other types of users. Recent studies suggest that the treatment with Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields delivered at a low intensity can be mostly effective at the early phases of wound healing especially for diabetic patients. It was noted that the usage of various intensity fields and different treatment periods may produce different results. PEMFs can be a very useful treatment to promote the recovery of the structural properties and make the wound healing process to occur in less time. However, the results seem to be not as effective at the remodeling phase of the wound. Electromagnetic Fields have shown significant improvement in early stages of the wound. PEMFs promote collagen deposition and proliferation which are important for wound recovery. Pulsed Electromagnetic Fields have been clinically tested as a therapeutic treatment for wound healing and the results have shown its benefits as below:
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- PEMFs enhance wound healing process by reducing the wound size and thus speeding up wound closure.
- The treatment reduces pain in the wounded area.
- It enhances circulation.
- It resolves inflammation around the wounded site.
- It accelerates re-epithelialization.
- It promotes vascular growth .
- It contributes to fibroblasts maturation which are important to recover the wounded area.
- It enhances the collagen deposition that is needed to regenerate the wounded area.
- It increases the overall tensile strength of the wound accelerating the healing process.
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- Regarding diabetic patients who need more time to complete the wound healing process due to their diabetic-related conditions, PEMFs contribute to a faster chronic ulcers healing and thus wound healing.
- PEMFs treatment presents no risks of wound infection.
In pulsed electromagnetic field therapy , the magnets are electro-charged but they are not harmful to your body because the intensity and duration are properly registered and tested to provide the expected results.
WOUND HEALING PROCESS
Wound healing is a dynamic and complex process that consists of four continuous stages such as: hemostasis, inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. These natural phases contribute to wound healing and should occur in a regulated manner in order to result in a speedy recovery of a wounded area. Any interruptions of any of these stages can delay the wound healing process and may also be a source for infection. Factors, either local or systematic, can intervene at stages of the healing process and cause impaired tissue repair. An optimal wound healing goes through all four phases.
WOUND HEALING STAGES IN ADULTS
Wound healing in adults’ bodies goes through these stages:
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- Hemostasis is the first phase of the overall wound healing process and it starts immediately after the wounding. It contributes with the formation of fibrin clot that releases pro-inflammatory cytokines to begin the healing process.
- Inflammation follows homeostasis and requires for the wounded person to have already controlled bleeding. Once this is done, inflammatory cells start cleaning the wounded area from microbes and cellular debris. However, these cells also produce substances, which cause additional bystander damage.
- Proliferation follows and overlaps with the inflammation stage. During the proliferation phase the migration of cells , the suitable angiogenesis and re-growth of epithelial tissue over the wound surface occurs. These cell types contribute to capillary growth, the formation of collagen and granulation tissue constructing extracellular matrix being damaged and thus closing the wound.
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- Remodeling phase is the last phase of wound healing. It can only occur following robust proliferation, extracellular synthesis, and the alignment of collagen. All this provides strength for the cells around the wounded site and contribute to wound closure
Having new formed capillaries returns the normal vascular density of the wounded area making it strong and healed. However, the remodeling phase might last for years. The coordination of the healing process is a hurdle to therapeutic approaches, since they must effectively be sequenced to the proper phases.
WOUND INFECTION
Wound healing process is quite long and during it the wound is exposed to infections. The wounded area may be contaminated, colonialized, locally infected or infected wholly. Some infections are related to what caused the wound and some others may occur when the wound is open and not treated by the person himself/herself. The risks are higher for a wound to be infected if it is deep or large. A wound might be infected in one of the ways:
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- Contamination is the presence of non-replicating organisms on a wound. It occurs when the wound is the result of an injury involving a dirty object.
- Colonization, on the other hand, is the presence of replicating microorganisms on the wound without having damaged the tissue.
- Local infection occurs with micro-organism replication and the beginning of local tissue responses
- Invasive infection is the presence of replicating organisms within the wound area with injury caused from the host organisms or maybe objects.
A person who has been wounded needs to look after the wound and in case they notice any of the signs, their wound might have been infected and they should consult it with a doctor.
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- Swelling of the wounded area
- Redness around the area and red streaks near the cut.
- Pain
- Fluid draining from the wound
- Fever
Health starts with knowing!
WOUND COMPLICATIONS
Wound healing process can be slowed down if there is low oxygenation, a person suffers from diabetes, smokes, consumes alcohol, experiences stress and is not taking all the needed nutrition.
Oxygen is crucial for cell metabolism and it affects all wound-healing processes. High levels of oxygen are needed to prevent wounds from infection and it contributes to speeding up all the wound healing phases.
Diabetes results in impairment in wound healing.
Stress is definitely a contributor to most health conditions and it generally slows down or even worsens the healing process. Wound healing process is touched by it too. However, there are no known reasons yet.
Smoking increases the risk of many diseases.. In the same way, the negative effects of smoking are noticed on wound-healing results.
Alcohol consumption is correlated with impairment in the wound healing process because it increases the risk of infection.
Malnutrition or certain nutrient deficiencies can have a profound impact on wound healing .
Read about conditions that Electromagnetic Therapy treats
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by low bone mass production. The former leads to the fragility of bones and therefore raises the risks of experiencing fractures.
Disc Conditions
Human body’s vertebrae are separated by discs which can be flat, round or fibrous. One experiences disc conditions when damaged discs start moving out of the alignment or even break down.
Sports Injuries
Sports injuries occur when somebody engages in strenuous or improper physical activity. Lack of warm up exercises before training increases the risks of experiencing sports injuries.
Wellness and Fitness
Wellness and health are commonly used interchangeably but they have a significant difference in meaning. Our health or lack of it is a composition of diagnosis of any diseases, family history and predisposition to certain diseases and injuries.
Veterinary Services
Animal wellness refers to the general health of our pets. An animal is subject to almost the same health problems as a human and needs to be treated by veterinarians in veterinary centers.
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