Effectiveness of electromagnetic field application on clinical parameters in patients with servical discal herniation

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of electromagnetic field therapy in patients with neck and / or arm pain due to cervical disc herniation. Materials and Methods: 140 patients who were admitted to physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic of Dicle University, Faculty of Medicine Hospital with neck and / or arm pain and afterwards radiologically diagnosed cervical disc hernia were evaluated. Seventy-four patients who protrude and / or extruded disc herniation was detected on cervical magnetic resonance imaging taken within the last 6 months and fulfilled the criteria were enrolled in the study. 64 of the 74 patients completed the study. The patients were divided into two groups. Patients in both groups received conventional TENS and hotpack therapy. In addition; patients in the study group (n: 32) was given pulse magnetic field therapy (60% intensity, 50 Hz frequency, 20 minutes). While the control group (n: 32) was given a magnetic field (sham magnetic field) without current flow. Patients were evaluated using Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPDS), Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) previous of the study, end-of-study and week 12. Results: There was a statistically significant improvement in VAS, NPDS, NHP, HAD scores between pre- and post-treatment 12th week in both groups. When we compared the groups, there was a statistically significant difference in only the VAS score and NHP sleep parameter in favor of study group (p <0.05). Conclusion: Electromagnetic field therapy is effective in reducing neck and / or arm pain due to cervical disc herniation in long-term. Key Words: Electromagnetic field therapy, magnetic field therapy, magnetotherapy, cervical disc herniation, neck pain