NCT05315297

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) Therapy in Thumb CMC Arthritis

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 61 (actual)
• Sponsor: Stanford University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Long-Term Objective: Determine if high-frequency PEMF therapy reduces pain in patients with thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint osteoarthritis (OA). Study Design and Methods: This will be a randomized controlled pilot study with 60 subjects with CMC OA randomly divided in two groups. Thirty subjects will receive high-frequency PEMF therapy overlying the CMC joint overnight daily for four weeks. The other 30 subjects will receive a sham PEMF therapy device applied to the same joint overnight daily for four weeks. Pain and function questionnaires will be obtained for all patients at enrollment, four weeks, and six weeks.

Conditions

• Thumb Osteoarthritis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	PEMF device	PEMF device wear overnight daily for four weeks
DEVICE	Sham PEMF device	Sham PEMF device wear overnight daily for four weeks. Sham PEMF devices do not emit a radiofrequency electromagnetic field but are otherwise identical in appearance to the PEMF device

Timeline

• Start date: 2023-06-20
• Primary completion: 2024-08-31
• Completion: 2024-08-31
• First posted: 2022-04-07
• Last updated: 2025-08-03
• Results posted: 2025-07-24

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study