Magnetotherapy is a method that uses electromagnetic fields, created with a special device, to stimulate the formation of new tissue in bone fractures. Let's find out better.
Origins and description of Magnetotherapy
We are in the vibrational energy field that also results in rehabilitation and physiotherapy. Magnetic therapy is in fact a therapy that uses a special device made up of a solenoid, that is an electric coil with a cylindrical shape crossed by the current, inside which an electromagnetic field is generated.
The frequency of this field can vary from a few Hertz to a few thousand. The intensity applied depends on the disorder to be treated.
Magnetotherapy is widely used to stimulate the formation of new tissue in bone fractures, because it would favor the accumulation of positive or negative electric charges in predetermined areas of the bone.
Medical science has not yet been able to establish with certainty based on what mechanisms magnetotherapy works.
The oldest citation of the magnet as a means of healing appears on the Atharvaveda which contains the treatise on medicine and the art of healing.
Cleopatra, a woman of legendary beauty (69-30 BC), is said to carry a small magnet on her forehead to preserve all her beauty.
What is Magnetotherapy for?
With magnetotherapy the beneficial effects are manifold. The therapy acts as a powerful analgesic, relieves pain, stimulates cellular exchange, promotes tissue oxygenation, acts positively on muscle-tension pains bringing relief in case of sciatica, lumbago, neck pain.
The process of decreasing bone density slows down, reduces healing time after fractures. The stimulus also comes directly to the endocrine system.
A kind of magnetotherapy session
The session varies a lot, considering that the nature of therapy is still investigating science. In health facilities the rehabilitation therapist or physiotherapist will be able to manage the machine and decide about the intensity of the frequencies. In general, however, the low frequencies stimulate the biological activity of the tissues, while the high ones have an analgesic effect.
Many apply a "static" magnet applied to the diseased part can interact with it in the best possible way. Serious research shows that magnetotherapy is able to halve the healing time of diseases affecting the skeletal system with applications of several hours a day for several weeks.
Some rent the equipment and perform the treatment at home. The duration should be between 30 and 90 minutes. The frequency should be of two sessions per day (with a break of at least two hours between one and the other);
Who can operate in Italy
Magnetotherapy has been used for some years both in public and private health facilities . Considering that science does not yet have precise answers, in addition to the machinery used by rehabilitation therapists, there are many people who practice "DIY magnetotherapy".
In a randomized test conducted by the Energy Medicine Developments, Inc. and published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine in 2003 it is argued that electromagnetism has had "small" beneficial effects in patients with multiple sclerosis even though the same authors report that results would need to be replicated to be taken into account.
In 2006/2007 a systematic review conducted by the Cochrane Collaboration found no evidence that electromagnetic therapy was useful in the treatment of pressure sores or varicose ulcers.
