Background: Bone marrow edema of the hip is a painful condition that can significantly impair function and may lead to more serious joint problems if left untreated. Extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy (EMTT) is an innovative non-invasive treatment that shows promise in orthopedic applications. However, its use has not been documented for treating bone marrow edema. This case series describes two patients with femoral head bone marrow edema in whom clinical symptoms and radiological findings improved following EMTT given alongside conservative treatment. Case presentations: We report on two German male patients, aged 44 and 55, who presented with an acute onset of hip pain lasting four weeks, with no history of trauma. Both patients exhibited reduced hip mobility, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans confirmed bone marrow edema in the femoral head. Each patient underwent eight sessions of EMTT over four weeks (10,000 pulses, 8 Hz, intensity level 8), alongside standard conservative treatments, which included medication, physiotherapy and, in one patient, partial off-loading. At follow-up appointments (13 weeks and 9 weeks post-consultation, respectively), both patients reported complete pain relief and regained their range of motion. MRI results confirmed near-complete resolution of the edema in both cases. Conclusion: In both patients, symptoms and MRI findings improved following EMTT administered together with conservative treatment, and the treatment was well tolerated. Considering the small number of patients, the concurrent interventions and the self-limiting natural history of bone marrow edema, a causal contribution of EMTT cannot be established from these observations. The favorable course nevertheless supports the formal evaluation of EMTT in this indication, and randomized controlled trials are needed to determine its efficacy in bone marrow edema.

Extracorporeal magnetotransduction therapy (EMTT) is a high-energy electromagnetic modality that delivers field strengths of 80–150 mT, effective transduction power > 60 kT/s, and dual-frequency architecture with pulse repetition near 8 Hz and oscillations of 100–300 kHz. This prospective pilot study evaluated pain and functional outcomes in patients with symptomatic midfoot osteoarthritis (OA). Eight patients (13 feet; five bilateral and three unilateral cases) with radiographic Kellgren–Lawrence (KL) grade 3 or 4 midfoot OA received eight EMTT sessions over four weeks. Outcomes were measured at baseline, after the eighth treatment at four weeks, and at 3-month and 6-month follow-up using the 0–10 Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure—Activities of Daily Living (FAAM-ADL). VAS demonstrated a significant overall effect of time (F(3,36) = 3.93, p = 0.016), with mean scores decreasing from 4.15 ± 1.63 at baseline to 2.62 ± 1.98 at 3 months and 3.00 ± 2.08 at 6 months. Bonferroni-adjusted baseline-to-follow-up contrasts approached significance at 3 months (p = 0.067) and were not significant at 6 months (p = 0.150). FAAM-ADL improved significantly over time (F(3,30) = 13.76, p < 0.001), increasing from 61.7% ± 9.9% at baseline to 81.8% ± 11.1% at 6 months. No treatment-related adverse events were observed; one participant proceeded to surgery by 6 months and was classified as a treatment failure. These preliminary findings suggest that EMTT is safe and may provide clinically meaningful functional improvement in selected patients with midfoot OA; larger sham-controlled trials are needed.