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Author: mraxe
My name is Peter Bucht. Computer engineer by day, Biohacker by night. I research health related topics and evaluate biohacking tech/therapies. I am trying to compress the information into easy to use tools for the average person. I want to give you the tools to build your own "Biohackers Toolbox".
A Biohackers Journey Part 2: PEMF – Pulsed Electromagnetic Field.
I met with Dr Martin Gildea at who owns the Gildea Health & Wellness clinic, that is located in Mount Holly Springs, PA. Dr Martin runs the practice with his wife Becky and he has been in the field for over 28 years. Martin has a Doctorate in Chiropractic (DC), Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner (CFMP) and is a Diplomat of the American Clinical Board of Nutrition (DACBN). He is also an author and written two books so far, “Wellness in a Toxic World” and “Health: A Common “Sensible” Approach”. Today I am testing PEMF for the first time. PEMF stands for Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy. I had heard about PEMF through podcasts and other blogs and a few years back I read the book “The Body Electric” by Robert Becker & Gary Selden. That really peaked my interest for this type of treatment. It can be effective for Pain relief and has FDA approval for healing of nonunion fractures, urinary incontinence and muscle stimulation, cervical fusion patients at high-risk of non-fusion, depression and anxiety, treatment of brain cancer.
What does PEMF do?
As Dr Becker explains in The Body Electric, every cell in you body is electrically charged. When you have an injury or inflammation in your muscles the charge of the cells in that area is depleted. That is where PEMF comes in and can recharge your cells and help you heal quicker. It has also been shown to increase bone density. Dr Oz said in his episode on PEMF that it has been proven in clinical studies to shorten the healing of bone fractures by 50%. The devices are made of copper coils that generate a magnetic frequency that ranges from 1Hz to 10,000 Hz and the intensity is measured in gauss or microTesla for lower powered systems. The higher powered systems max out about 2000 to 4000 gauss.
There are 100 microTesla in 1 gauss. The earth has a frequency that in generally called Schumann Resonance (around 7.83 Hz) and is named after Winfried Otto Schumann. The Schumann resonance is believed to be necessary for humans to be living a healthy life. NASA did a study on PEMF and its effect and found it might be beneficiary for including developing tissues for transplantation, repairing traumatized tissues, and moderating some neurodegenerative diseases and perhaps controlling the degeneration of tissue as might be effected in a bioelectric stasis field.
How is the treatment done?
I sat down on the chair you see in the picture, Dr Martin started me off with 7.83 Hz.
It feels almost the same as when you have electrodes on your muscles with a TENS that physical therapist uses. My muscles are twitching from the pulses that makes them contract. We continue and lay down on a massage bed and get different kinds of frequency’s on my whole body and he adds two coils, one on each side of my head. The treatment last about 30 min total. I feel very relaxed after and mellow. Similar feeling you have after a day at the spa. I will most likely get a PEMF unit for my home and keep treating my many old injuries. A great thank you to Dr Martin for taking the time and putting up with all my questions.
A Biohackers Journey Part 1: Cryotherapy.
34 years in martial arts has taken a toll on my body. Still look fairly young on the outside (if I may say so myself). On the inside that’s a different story. I have had many surgeries: left shoulder, left biceps muscle tendon tear, right collarbone, bilateral hip resurfacing, and removal of my adrenal gland. In addition to all of that, I have had numerous sprains and back problems. Even still, I continue to do martial arts and I am in pretty good shape.
But what if i could be better than just ok?
For a long time I have been interested in researching health and the health technologies that are rapidly becoming available.
After I read The Four Hour Body by Tim Ferriss, and learned about the various experiments he does in the book, which got me interested in biohacking my own health. This will be a biohacking series with a lot of different therapies/treatments that you can pursue. I will try Cryotherapy (obviously), PEMF Pulsed Electromagnetic Frequency treatment, nutritional IV, Hyperbaric Oxygen treatment, TDCS Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, and hopefully a grand finaly with Stemcell treatment.
So, jump on board and join me while I am being upgraded to the new and improved Me 2.0.
Hack #1: Cold Therapy.
I have been curios about cold therapies for a while and when I saw the Wim Hof documentary “The Iceman“, I was convinced I had to try it. I had some caveats concerning the safety regarding doing the Cryo session. Most people have likely heard of the article in the NY Times about the young woman who died in the cryo chamber.
Ice bath´s and cryotherapy are vastly becoming popular. Cryotherapy is the express version of an icebath. Cryo- comes the Greek word “krous,” which means “icy,” “cold” or “frost.” Therapy means ”therapy” or “treatment,” duh. Athletes are using it to recover after hard workouts, relieve pain, and heal injuries quicker. A session is usually between 1.5 minutes to maximum 3 minutes in -150 degrees Celsius (-238 degrees Fahrenheit).
It is also becoming more popular to the general population for pain relief, skin conditions, and anti-aging. My first appointment was with Igloo Cryotherapy in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
I met with the owner Dan Spyridon. I felt very welcome, and Dan and I talked for over an hour about Cryotherapy, martial arts, and many more health related things. He also gave me a tour of the place. My first impression of the facilities is that everything was very neat, clean, and well-organized. Besides the whole body Cryotherapy, you can also get a cryofacial, local cryo, and other services. If it´s your first visit, you have to complete a form with your personal details, and sign a waiver. In the waiting room you can also get compression therapy for your legs with Normatec compression pants.
Popsicle or Superman?
I entered the changing room and put on a robe, warm socks and gloves. The changing room has a second door that leads to the cryo chamber. I was excited and a little nervous. I really didn’t know what to expect? Will I freeze into a popsicle or come out like Captain America on the other side?
Dan assured me that they take all the safety precautions very serious. Someone is alway in the room with you, guiding you through your session.
I got in the chamber and handed my robe to Dan. It was cold as a … (your choice of bad word). But the coldness quickly disappeard and I didn’t even shiver. A weird feeling of wellbeing replaced the feeling of cold. Dan guided me though how much time I had been in there. 1 minute, 1.5 minutes, and I make it through the whole 3 minutes.
When I got out, I felt the blood rushing back and a feeling of euphoria. I felt like I had been supercharged. I did not have any pain before going in, so I can’t talk to the efficacy of the pain relief. Dan also tells me that the effects accumulate slowly after time and after you have done a series of regular treatments. It is not a quick fix, but it is definitely something you should consider having in your toolbox. I, for one, am going to do it again! Can’t wait to try my next biohack.
Until next time, live long and prosper!
