Date of Award

1997

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Master of Physical Therapy (MPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Thomas Mohr

Keywords

Magnetics

Abstract

Magnetic therapy has been a treatment of choice for hundreds of years in many European countries as well as in several areas of the Orient, but has only recently been gaining popularity in the United States and Canada. It is believed that applying static magnets to a painful body structure will bring relief to the patient. It is also proposed that a general feeling of well ness and increased energy will be gained from magnetic therapy. These benefits are theorized to be attained through the placement of a static magnet on the surface of the body, which blocks the transmission of pain to the central nervous system and causes vasodilatation of local blood vessels allowing the body to heal itself.

The purpose of this literature review is to provide a better understanding of the body's responses to natural magnets and the resulting physiological changes that occur. A review of the nervous system with particular attention given to the afferent pain sensation pathway and its controls will be presented, followed by a brief discussion on the physical makeup and chemical components of the circulatory system. A description of natural magnets and their properties will be given, along with a review of how natural magnets affect the nervous and circulatory systems and their potential use in the field of physical therapy.

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