Electromagnetic Fields for Soft Tissue Wound Healing

This chapter deals with connections between wound healing and electromagnetic elds in the form of electrotherapy with electrodes (ET) or noncontact electromagnetic eld (EMF) excitation. Either form is here referred to as electromagnetic eld therapy (EMFT). Despite evidence of such connections, no mechanism can as yet account for such reported effects. A broad concept underlying EMFT in relation to soft tissue healing is that applied elds and currents benecially affect functional aspects of cells and processes involved in tissue repair. Because standard treatments exist to deal with typical and uncomplicated wounds, EMFT is often reserved to treat wounds or ulcers that are chronic, non-or slow-healing, or recalcitrant to standard therapy