"For Pets and their Parents"
What Doctors and Veterinarians Have to Say:
- EXPLAINING MAGNETIC FIELD THERAPY
- Fracture Healings with Magnetics
- Pulsed electromagnetic fields in experimental cutaneous wound healing in rats
- See our people site EM Therapy Pad for more information
EXPLAINING MAGNETIC FIELD THERAPY
by Drs. James E. Bullock and Kevin J. May of Bullock's Veterinary Hospital
The therapy with pulsating magnetic fields (PMF) is a relatively new and very effective form of physical therapy. It is not a miracle, but simply a physical (or better. biophysical) modality used in the medical branch and utilized for accelerated therapeutic purposes.
It is known that the human and animal organism consists of a large number of cells. These cells are functioning electrically. If there is no electrical potential left in the cell, it is no longer viable. These cells have a basic (or rest) potential that is necessary for normal cellular metabolism.
Diseased or damaged cells have an altered rest potential. If the ions (electrically charged particles surrounding the cells) move into the area of pulsating magnetic fields, they will be influenced by the rhythm of the pulsation. The rest potential of the cell is proportional to the ion exchange occurring at the cell membrane.
The ion exchange is also responsible for the oxygen utilization of the cell. Pulsating magnetic fields can dramatically influence the ion exchange at the cellular level and thereby greatly improve the oxygen utilization of diseased or damaged tissues. The deterioration of the oxygen utilization is known to be a problem in several medical branches, especially delayed healing and arthritis of joints. Thus, the wide range of indications are:
- Orthopedics. traumatology, rheumatology, after-treatment of complicated and simple fractures, wound treatment, burns, and degenerative diseases of the apparatus of support and locomotion.
- Coronary and circulatory diseases;
- Disorders of the neurological system.
From bibliography and clinical experiments, we know that pulsating magnetic fields are able to reduce pain sensations almost immediately. This is due in part to the increase in the oxygen partial pressure in the terminal tissue and the increase in the local perfusion and velocity of the capillary blood flow alleviating the accumulation of metabolites due to small vascularization and blood flow (transmitted by the sympathetic nervous system).
The above mentions the wide area of indications but says nothing of contraindications and side effects. There are no absolute contraindications to magnetic therapy except in cases of hemorrhage or where electrical implants already are in use. In contrast to chemical medicaments, there is no over dosage,
Our hospital has used PMF therapy to accelerate the healing of those horses needing pins and bone plates. No damaging heat will be produced in the implants. Furthermore, all implants are antimagnetic. The treatment of fractures can also be applied with a plaster cast because, as mentioned before, magnetic fields permeate all materials.
The therapeutic effect of such treatments lasts for approximately six to eight hours. This shows that the majority of all cases at the beginning of a series of treatments daily. Only after five to 10 days can the treatment regime be reduced to one treatment daily or every other day. In very chronic or extremely difficult cases, this treatment may be longer. The wide experience concerning the application of this therapy implies that an alternate solution has been found in accelerating the healing time of many of our common injuries affecting our running horses, as well as possible therapy for those patients who have been resistant to other therapies and those patients injured by the side effects of other therapies.
Fracture Healings with Magnetics
Dr. Strazza, a well-regarded expert in the area of magnetic therapy has commented on his experiences treating animals using magnetic therapy. He stated that with regard to fracture healing, he found a reduction of 40-50% in the healing time of simple fractures by merely incorporating magnets into a bandage. This meant that dogs could resume weight-bearing sooner if the magnets were used along with conventional fracture repair methods. A problem often seen in fracture healing is non-union of the fracture. In a non-union, the ends of the fracture fail to heal and the ends of the bones remain. He also observed that in magnetic therapy treatment of over fifty different animal fracture cases, no cases of non-union developed.
In two specific cases of severe non-union referred for evaluation where the fracture had failed to heal, magnetic therapy allowed healing of the fracture sight. Dr. Strazza also reports good remarkable success in treating various types of arthritis with magnets. Included in the cases are dogs with spinal arthritis and paralysis, chronic disk disease, hip dysplasia and arthritis, older dogs that move stiffly or slowly, and stiffness that develops after a morning exercise routine. By using a combination of a magnetic mat for sleeping along with a spinning magnetic field, he has achieved positive responses in 60-70% of his cases.
Pulsed electromagnetic fields in experimental cutaneous wound healing in rats.
Patino O. et.al. Postgraduate Reconstr. and Plastic Surgery, Uni del Salvador J Burn Care Rehabil
Electromagnetic fields are now being used in many diseases such as osseous, ligamental, cartilaginous, or nervous reparation, diabetes, and myocardial or cerebral ischemia. Although many publications show the usefulness of magneto-therapy, discrepancies exist about the utility of electromagnetic fields in skin wound healing. The objective of this work was to study the effect of pulsed electromagnetic fields on wound healing in rats. Twenty-two male Wistar rats were used; a circular lesion was made in the back of each animal. They were divided into three groups: group C (control) with sham treatment (n = 8), group NF, treated with topical nitrofurazone solution (n = 7), and group PEMF, treated with pulsed electromagnetic fields of 20 mT (n = 7). The treatments were 35 minutes twice a day. The absolute and relative values of the area and perimeter of the wounds showed significantly lower values in the PEMF group at days 7, 14, and 21 compared with those in group C (p < 0.01, analysis of variance), whereas the PEMF group showed significantly lower values at day 21 only compared with the NF group (p < 0.01, analysis of variance). The results suggest a significant beneficial stimulation in the wound healing process in rats treated with PEMF, which could lead to the development of a practical tool for research and clinical use.