THE AT-HOME TREATMENT THAT ELIMINATES PAIN

More than 28 million women in the U.S. suffer from chronic pain—and many are given an Rx for opioids. In fact, women ages 40 to 59 are prescribed these pills more than any other age group—and twice as often as men. But as data on the dangers of opioids mounts, many are looking elsewhere for pain relief.

One option: pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, which uses low-frequency magnetic fields to stimulate healing. “The magnetic field passes through the body like wind through trees,” explains William Pawluk, M.D., an expert in magnetic field therapy. “After the wind comes through, the leaves are still moving. Magnetic fields stimulate ions in the body the same way.”

The PEMFs initiate a cascade of actions at the cellular level. “The value of PEMFs is threefold,” says

Dr. Pawluk. “They improve symptoms, restore function and promote healing—unlike medications, which numb pain but don’t help the body heal.” The payoff: Research at Yale University found that osteoarthritis patients who received 30 minutes of PEMF therapy every other day for a month experienced a 50% improvement in pain severity and a 48% improvement in joint tenderness.

The best part: There are no side effects and no limits to how frequently you can use a PEMF device. “PEMFs are very safe,” says Dr. Pawluk. “People have used them for 12 hours a day.” But, he adds, the body does need to learn to react to the stimulation, so he suggests starting with 1-hour treatments daily.

While some doctors have in-office magnetic systems, they are not often covered by insurance. Fortunately, there are reasonably priced at-home options, like Oska Pulse ($399, OskaWellness.com) and MicroPulse A9 ($429, Micro-Pulse.com).