Embodiments of the invention include methods of treating a patient with physiological responses arising from an injury or condition, such as post-operative pain, traumatic brain injury, and cognitive defects. These treatment methods can include the steps of generating a pulsed electromagnetic field from a pulsed electromagnetic field source which is configured to simultaneously increase the rate of ion-dependent signaling, such as CaM/NO/cGMP signaling and to minimize the rate of inhibition of such signaling by natural compounds and applying the pulsed electromagnetic field in proximity to a target region affected by the injury or condition for a first treatment interval followed by an inter-treatment period with no electromagnetic field between treatment intervals to reduce a physiological response to the injury or condition.
