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REFERENCES:
An Overview of Biomagnetic Therapeutics, by Edward A. Hacmac
Healing With Nature's Energy, by Richard Leviton
Pulsed Magnetic Field Therapy and the Physiotherapist, by Dr. D.C.
Laycock, Ph.D
Magnetic Healing, by Jane Jackson, Ph.D
You may have heard recently on television or in the
newspapers about the growing popularity in the use of magnetic fields as
an alternative method of treating pain and swelling associated with muscle
strains, sprains, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome and other types of injuries.
While this may seem like a new idea to you, the fact of the matter is that
biomagnetic therapy has been popular in other countries for years, and it's
uses can be traced back as far as 100,000 years ago, when magnatite was mined
in Africa and used in potions, foods and topical solutions.
Today in the United States many doctors and scientists
now consider biomagnetic therapy as a viable alternative method for
treating pain and swelling. According to author Edward A. Hacmac, "Doctors
in both Europe and the United States are obtaining results using electromagnetic
fields to treat damage ranging from decubitus ulcers to severe burns. Soft
tissue injuries are responding as well as those of bone and joint". Let's
take a look at some of the key factors involved in the theory of biomagnetic
therapy, and why more and more medical practitioners are considering this
type of treatment beneficial.
Scientists have already established beyond a doubt that
all living cells are electrical in nature. The normal function of the cells
and nervous systems in all living things is based on direct current (DC).
Each individual cell possesses a positive electrical charge at it's nucleus
and a negative electrical charge on it's outer membrane. This positive -
negative polarization allows each cell to function in a normal and healthy
manner. When living tissues become injured, the flow of blood can be restricted
due to inflammation, blocking the body's natural ability to provide oxygen
and nutrients to damaged cells. It is believed that magnetic fields can realign
the polarity of damaged cells, allowing them to function normally. Also,
stimulating injured tissue with magnetic fields increases the diameter of
blood vessels, allowing blood to flow more freely to the treated areas. This
allows the body to provide the oxygen and nutrients necessary to heal damaged
tissues, as well as help the body to remove toxins from the damaged tissues.
Renowned Physicist / Psychologist Dr. Buryl Payne has published
comprehensive studies on magnetic fields and healing, and is considered by
many to be the authority on the subject. According to Dr. Payne, sensitive
research instruments have allowed scientists to document some of the ways
magnetic fields affect living organisms. He sites specific factors now known
to be involved in magnetic healing. Increased blood flow with resulting increased
oxygen carrying capacity, both of which are basic to helping the body heal
itself, can be attributed to the presence of magnetic fields. Magnetic fields
can also change the migration of calcium ions which can either bring calcium
ions to heal a broken bone in half the usual time, or can help remove calcium
from painful, arthritic joints. The PH balance (acid / alkaline) of various
body fluids (often out of balance in conjunction with illness or abnormal
conditions) apparently can be altered by magnetic fields. Hormone production
from the endocrine glands can either be increased or decreased by magnetic
stimulation, as well as altering enzyme activity and other biochemical processes.
Studies by other doctors seem to support Dr. Paynes findings
on biomagnetic healing. Dr. Kenneth MacLean, founder of the Institute of
Biomagnetics in New York, has treated some "hopeless" cancer patients with
high strength magnets. After carefully studying microscopic cellular changes
after magnetic treatment he concluded that "exposure to strong magnetic fields
was at least beneficial in every case and harmful in none". His patients
reacted so favorably, in some cases becoming totally pain free, that he was
encouraged to expand his electromagnetic treatment.
An American dentist, Dr. Jack Prince, has successfully
used magnets on acupuncture points to reduce bleeding, gagging and pain
sensitivity on his patients. He discovered that the use of biomagnetic treatment
could bring almost immediate relief of chronic pain from jaw dislocations
as well as from TMJ syndrome, headaches and teeth grinding.
Researchers at Loma Linda University's School of Medicine
in California have found, following studies in sixteen countries with over
1,000 patients, that "low frequency, low intensity magnetic energy has been
successful in treating chronic pain related to tissue ischemia, and also
worked in clearing up slow - healing ulcers, and in ninety percent of patients
tested, raised blood flow significantly". Dr. Benjamin Lau states in his
report that biomagnetic therapy "may be beneficial in clinical conditions
where increase of tissue oxygenations is therapeutically desirable".
In addition to promoting healing at an accelerated rate,
it is also believed that biomagnetic therapy can suppress pain. An article
by Dr. D.C. Laycock, Ph.D, states that "pain is transmitted as an electrical
signal which encounters gaps at intervals along it's path. The signal is
transferred in the form of a chemical signal across the synaptic gap and
this is detected by receptors on the post synaptic membrane". Thus, biomagnetic
fields can effectively block the perception of pain by disrupting the electrical
signal required to trigger the release of the chemical transmitter used by
the neurosystem to perceive pain.
With all the information available on the subject, it
is easy to see how biomagnetic therapy, once dismissed as a "snake oil" type
hoax, is growing in popularity among medical practitioners, and is now considered
a viable form of treatment. "There is great interest in using magnetic fields
for healing", states Dr. Jim Oschman, instructor at both the Rolfe Institute
of Boulder, Colorado, and the New England School of Acupuncture. "Biomagnetics
is a whole new field for Western medical research".
Peter Gwynne reports in a recent issue of MIT's Technology
Review that "Biomagnetisim is promising to take a role in medical diagnosis,
helping physicians zero in on a spectrum of ailments ranging from brain disorders
to lung disease to liver conditions". The Federal Government has invested
several million dollars in biomagnetic research, while some forty research
groups world wide have begun projects involving biomagnetisim. Although
scientists stress that biomagnetisim is still an "experimental science",
and not an established diagnostic procedure, they do readily concur that,
unlike many other techniques, biomagnetisim is non - invasive and non - harmful.
Biomagnetic therapy continues to receive coverage in
the media and in medical journals as a treatment for osteoarthritis. Trial
studies have been performed on groups of people where half were treated with
electromagnetic fields, and the other half received an inactive or placebo
treatment. At the study's end, the treatment group indicated improvements
over the inactive group in osteoarthritis symptoms such as pain, tenderness
and ability to perform daily activities.
Veterinarians have also been using biomagnetic therapy
as an alternative treatment for injury and pain, particularly in horses.
Vets and trainers are placing biomagnetic therapy products of some kind around
injured or healing parts of horses. They claim that healing is enhanced when
using them. Very reputable vets and trainers have noted very positive effects
using biomagnetic therapy as part of the treatment process.
We hope that the following information is helpful in
deciding whether or not biomagnetic therapy might be a viable alternative
to traditional medicinal or biochemical treatments for you or your horse.
We offer a full line of high quality human and equine biomagnetic therapy
products to insure complete treatment of afflicted areas. And unlike other
biomagnetic therapy products currently available, the magnets in our products
are configured internally to create a "Force Field", promoting maximum
therapeutic benefits. |
