Electromagnetic fields do not affect bone micro-architecture in osteoporotic rats

OBJECTIVES: Electromagnetic fields (EMF) are widely used in musculoskeletal disorders. There are indications that EMF might also be effective in the treatment of osteoporosis. To justify clinical follow-up experiments, we examined the effects of EMF on bone micro-architectural changes in osteoporotic and healthy rats. Moreover, we tested the effects of EMF on fracture healing. METHODS: EMF (20 Gauss) was examined in rats (aged 20 weeks), which underwent an ovariectomy (OVX; n = 8) or sham-ovariectomy (sham-OVX; n = 8). As a putative positive control, all rats received bilateral fibular osteotomies to examine the effects on fracture healing. Treatment was applied to one proximal lower leg (three hours a day, five days a week); the lower leg was not treated and served as a control. Bone architectural changes of the proximal tibia and bone formation around the osteotomy were evaluated using in vivo microCT scans at start of treatment and after three and six weeks. RESULTS: In both OVX and sham-OVX groups, EMF did not result in cancellous or cortical bone changes during follow-up. Moreover, EMF did not affect the amount of mineralised callus volume around the fibular osteotomy. CONCLUSIONS: In this study we were unable to reproduce the strong beneficial findings reported by others. This might indicate that EMF treatment is very sensitive to the specific set-up, which would be a serious hindrance for clinical use. No evidence was found that EMF treatment can influence bone mass for the benefit of osteoporotic patients. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2014;3:230–5.