Magnetic field therapy in Vienna
Magnetic field therapy needs neither a needle nor a drug. It is painless and can be added to whatever is already being treated. In my practice it is an accompanying application — not a mainstay of the treatment plan.
In short
In magnetic field therapy, a pulsed electromagnetic field acts on the treated region of the body. There are no needles, no drug is given, your clothes stay on, and as a rule you feel nothing. I use it alongside other treatment: after injuries and operations, and for persistent irritation of tendons and joints. The scientific basis for it is thin and inconsistent. It therefore stands beside physiotherapy, training and the other procedures, never in their place.
What magnetic field therapy is
A device generates a pulsed electromagnetic field. The part of the body concerned is placed inside a coil, or a flat applicator pad is laid on it. The field passes through clothing, dressings and plaster casts; direct contact with the skin is not needed. No heat is produced.
The reasoning behind it: the changing field is meant to influence processes at the cell membranes and in the metabolism of the treated tissue. How this works in detail, and how much of it actually reaches the tissue, has not been established. I am deliberately describing an assumption here, not a proven mechanism of action.
What I use it for
In my practice, magnetic field therapy is available to me as an accompanying application. I offer it where a treatment plan is already under way and a painless, well-tolerated additional measure carries little risk:
- after injuries and after operations on the elbow, shoulder and hand, alongside the aftercare;
- for persistent irritation of tendons and tendon insertions;
- for complaints caused by joint wear (osteoarthritis), where movement and progressive training are the priority;
- for delayed fracture healing, coordinated with the rest of the treatment.
What it is not: a substitute for physiotherapy, for progressive training or for a procedure that the findings call for.
How a session works
You sit or lie in a relaxed position, and the arm or shoulder is supported. Your clothes stay on. During the application you usually feel nothing — no stinging, no warmth, no tingling; you can read or simply rest during this time. Afterwards there is no need to take it easy, and you continue to use the arm as the treatment plan provides. The therapy is given over several sessions. I do not fix in advance how many make sense; I go by how things progress.
How I assess the evidence
Here I am cautious, and that belongs on a page like this. Studies on magnetic field therapy have produced contradictory results; robust evidence of a benefit for complaints of the elbow, shoulder and hand is largely lacking. I therefore make no promise of effect. And I advise no one to put off a treatment with a sounder basis in favour of it.
What speaks for the application is its low risk: it does not hurt, it does not enter the body, and it can easily be added to whatever is already under way — physiotherapy and exercise therapy are available in the building at the Orthozentrum Döbling. Where other procedures are better studied, I use those: more on shockwave therapy, ultrasound-guided injection and PRP therapy. The treatments page gives an overview of all conservative procedures.
When it is not used
Magnetic field therapy is not used with a cardiac pacemaker, an implanted defibrillator or a medication pump, with severe heart rhythm disorders, during pregnancy, or with an acute infection or a tumour in the treatment area. Please tell me beforehand which implants you have and which medical conditions are known; I check whether anything speaks against it before the first application.
My practice is a private practice, in Austria a Wahlarztordination. I do not bill any public health insurer directly; you receive an invoice and submit it to your insurer — on request I take care of the submission for you. Whether magnetic field therapy has a place in your treatment plan is something I decide together with you, after the examination and on the basis of the findings. The conditions, sorted by joint, are listed under shoulder surgery, elbow surgery and hand surgery.
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions about magnetic field therapy
A device generates a pulsed electromagnetic field that acts on the treated region of the body. For this, the arm is placed inside a coil or a flat applicator pad is laid on it. The field passes through clothing, dressings and plaster casts. There are no needles, and no drug is given.
As a rule, no. It does not sting, it does not get warm, and there is usually no tingling either. You sit or lie in a relaxed position and can read or rest during this time. Afterwards there is no need to take it easy.
Alongside the aftercare following injuries and operations on the elbow, shoulder and hand, for persistent irritation of tendons and tendon insertions, for complaints caused by joint wear and for delayed fracture healing. It supplements the treatment plan; the mainstays are physiotherapy, training and the procedures with a sounder basis.
Thin and inconsistent. There are studies with contradictory results; robust evidence of a benefit for complaints of the elbow, shoulder and hand is largely lacking. I therefore make no promise of effect, and I advise no one to put off a better-studied treatment in favour of it.
With a cardiac pacemaker, an implanted defibrillator or a medication pump, with severe heart rhythm disorders, during pregnancy, and with an acute infection or a tumour in the treatment area. Please tell me beforehand which implants you have; I check whether anything speaks against it before the first application.
No. It is an accompanying application, not a mainstay of treatment. Mobility and load tolerance return through physiotherapy and progressive training. Where the findings call for a procedure — a complete tendon tear or a displaced fracture, for instance — an accompanying application does not change that.
My practice is a private practice, in Austria a Wahlarztordination. I do not settle directly with any public health insurer; you receive an invoice and submit it to your insurer — on request I take care of the submission for you. Whether anything is reimbursed, and to what extent, is decided by your insurer.
Dr. med. Martin Eigenschink
Specialist in Orthopaedics and Traumatology · Specialist in elbow, shoulder and hand surgery
Surgical and conservative treatment of the elbow, shoulder and hand, preferably minimally invasive. Practice at the Orthozentrum Döbling, 1190 Vienna. More about my background
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Medical notice: The contents of this page serve as general information. They do not replace a medical examination, diagnosis or individual advice. Medicine is a constantly evolving field — despite careful research, no guarantee can be given that the content is fully up to date.