Bone Healing (Delayed & Nonunion)

    PEMF for Acute Fractures: Systematic Review (NEGATIVE)

    Grade DSystematic review2024

    What did this study find?

    This 2024 systematic review examined three recent randomized trials of pulsed electromagnetic fields applied to acute fractures and found no significant benefit for healing time or union rate. The authors conclude that current evidence does not support PEMF in fresh fractures, in contrast with the more favorable delayed union and nonunion literature.

    What are the details of this record?

    Full citation
    PEMF for Acute Fractures: Systematic Review. 2024. PMID: 39387850.
    Study design
    Systematic review
    Sample size and population
    3 recent RCTs
    Evidence grade
    Grade D on the BioReg grading scale
    Reported findings
    No significant bone-healing benefit in acute fractures. Included to bound the claim: benefit is specific to delayed and nonunion, not all fractures.
    DOI
    No DOI recorded

    A positive PEMF study is not evidence for a specific device unless the signal parameters studied, frequency, intensity, waveform, and exposure duration, are reasonably comparable to what that device produces. Where this record does not list those parameters, the source report did not publish them. See the grading methodology. Library last reviewed 2026-08-27.