Therapeutic Applications of Magnetic Fields

It is now commonplace to learn of the successful use of weak non-thermal electromagnetic fields (EMF) in the quest to heal, or relieve the symptoms of, a variety of debilitating ailments. This review will attempt to give the reader an introduction and assessment of EMF modalities which have demonstrated therapeutic benefit for bone and wound repair and chronic and acute pain relief. This review will concentrate on the use of exogenous time-varying and static magnetic fields. There is, however, a large body of research, including many clinical studies, describing the successful application of electrical signals via electrodes in electrochemical contact with the skin for pain relief and to enhance wound repair. Consideration of these modalities is beyond the scope of this review. The reader is referred to several excellent reviews of such electrical stimulation modalities (1-5).

Electroporation (6-8,372), which applies high amplitude (>100V/cm), short duration (≤1 msec), voltage pulses with electrodes in contact with the target, allows controlled transient opening of the cell and other membranes, and has shown promise for gene transvection (9) and treatment of certain cancers (10), is also beyond the scope of this review. Finally RF (>100 MHz) and microwave signals are also beyond the scope of this review since these modalities are rarely utilized to enhance bone or wound repair, but rather for tissue heating, thermal ablation or as surgical tools. Non-thermal bioeffects at these frequencies have been reported, but there are many controversial findings. Excellent reviews are available for the reader interested in more detail.

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