Magnetic therapy for the management of somatic pain

Throughout history, humankind has experienced the unpleasant sensation of pain. Pursuant to this, relief from the discomfort of pain has been sought through whatever means conceivable including the use of magnets. This study was done to help provide a basis for the decision as to weather or not health care providers should advocate the use of static magnets in pain management. The theoretical framework of this study was the Four Conservation Principals by Myra Levine (1969), specifically the conservation of patient energy regarding the inflammatory process.

This research studied the effects of commercially available medical magnets, of varying size, on a convenient sample of 10 patients from the northwestern Pennsylvania area having somatic pain for more than one month. The McGill Pain Questionnaire was used at baseline, 24 hours, and 7 days after beginning magnetic therapy. The Student t test revealed a statistically significant improvement after 24 hours, which continued at 1 week, as measured by the three parameters of the McGill Pain Questionnaire that were addressed. To be considered significant the t value had to be greater than 1.833. The three parameters were: The Number of Words Chosen which had a net improvement of t = 3.1058 (p - 0.0009), the Present Pain Index which had a net improvement of t = 6.5000 (p < 0.0001), and the Pain Rating Index which had a net improvement oft = 5.3930 (p < 0.0001). Magnetic therapy continues to be vigorously studied and shows promising results (Whitaker & Adderly, 1998).