Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy (EMTT): Non-invasive treatment option for chronic pain
Whether it's climbing stairs, shopping, or sleeping through the night – for many people with knee, shoulder or back pain, these simple things are associated with discomfort. Chronic musculoskeletal symptoms are one of the most common causes of limitations in everyday life and a reduced quality of life. Various medications, injections or physio-therapeutic measures have often been tried without achieving sufficient relief.
Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy (EMTT) is a state-of-the-art, non-invasive treatment method that offers another option. In a controlled clinical trial in Germany, Hollander et al.¹ tested how well EMTT works for typical chronic musculoskeletal complaints.
How well does EMTT work according to the study?
The study was conducted in Germany with 126 patients. After a one-week phase without any medication for pain and inflammation, the participants received either EMTT or a placebo treatment. Anti-inflammatory drugs were not permitted during the study period; only paracetamol or metamizole in limited doses were permitted for pain relief. The research team investigated various chronic, degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal system in the knee, shoulder and lower back.
Two questions were decisive: How severe is the pain and how well can you cope in everyday life? Measured on the pain scale (VAS from 0 = no pain to 10 = most severe pain imaginable), pain in the EMTT group decreased to a rather mild range over 12 weeks, while the placebo group continued to report clearly noticeable pain.
In the questionnaire on physical function (SF 12 Physical Component Summary PCS), the EMTT group also performed better: On average, patients were able to manage everyday activities such as walking or climbing stairs more easily than those who only received the placebo treatment.
For which complaints could EMTT be suitable?
Degenerative diseases with wear and tear of joints and tendon attachments were investigated, in particular:
- Knee osteoarthritis with load-dependent complaints (N=31)
- Shoulder pain due to rotator cuff enthesiopathy (N=43)
- Chronic back pain with lumbar spondyloarthrosis (N=52)
Improvements in favour of EMTT were observed in all three indications, with the study showing an overall advantage over placebo treatment for the entire group of patients with degenerative diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
Side effects and tolerability
EMTT is a non-invasive therapy: the skin remains unharmed, and no injections or operations are necessary. In the study, slight reddening of the skin in the treatment area and mild pain occurred more frequently during treatment with EMTT than in the placebo group. These symptoms were temporary and usually subsided quickly. Overall, EMTT proved to be a well-tolerated treatment in which the side effects observed were predominantly mild and generally resolved quickly .
EMTT as an additional option for chronic symptoms
For many people with knee, shoulder or back pain, various conservative treatment options can be considered depending on the situation, such as physical therapy, physiotherapy or medication. In some cases, additional procedures are also investigated. According to the study by Hollander et al., Extracorporeal Magnetotransduction Therapy (EMTT) can relieve pain and improve mobility in everyday life.
1 Hollander K., et al. (2025) Extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy (EMTT) for management of musculoskeletal disorders: A double‑blind, placebo‑controlled, randomised trial. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. https://doi.org/10.1177/10538127251400083.
