General Obstetrics and Gynecology GynecologyEfficacy of static magnetic field therapy in chronic pelvic pain: A double-blind pilot study☆,☆☆
Section snippets
Material and methods
Forty women from a university-based obstetrics and gynecology clinic who met inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. All patients gave written informed consent that was approved by the institutional review board. Subjects were between ages 18 and 50 years; were diagnosed by a gynecologist with CPP according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) criteria15 (duration of 6 months or longer, persistent pain despite current treatment, significantly
Results
Of the 40 women who were screened for the study, 33 met eligibility criteria and entered single-blind treatment. Thirty-three continued to meet eligibility criteria after single-blind treatment and were randomly selected for double-blind treatment. One subject assigned to the active treatment group was lost to follow-up after single-blind treatment. Fifteen subjects receiving active magnets and 17 subjects receiving placebo magnets completed 2 weeks of double-blind treatment. Nineteen subjects
Comment
The results of this randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial show that SMF therapy with bipolar magnets of ±500 G intensity significantly improve disability and may reduce pain when worn continuously for 4 weeks in women with CPP. We found a 22% reduction in pain intensity in patients with CPP wearing active magnets compared with 6% in those wearing sham magnets. The percent improvement was comparable to other studies demonstrating significant findings. Both Colbert et al9 and Alfano
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2013, Complementary Therapies in MedicineCitation Excerpt :A Cochrane review published in 2011 also evaluated eighteen randomized controlled studies and they concluded that electrotherapy including magnetotherapy, especially pulsed electromagnetic field was possibly better than placebo to relieve pain in myofasial and chronic neck pain.15 In vivo, electromagnetic field has been shown to significantly reduce pain levels in patients suffering from a number of diseases.16–24 This led to the hypothesis that the beneficial effects of electromagnetic field could be achieved by regulating inflammatory immune processes.
Static magnetic fields act via voltage gated calcium channel (VGCC) activation to produce mostly therapeutic effects
2024, Static Magnetic Fields and their Effects
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Supported by the University of Tennessee Center for Women's Health Improvement and BIOflex Medical Magnets.
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Reprint requests: Candace Brown, PharmD, 9685 US Highway 70, Lakeland, TN 38002. E-mail: [email protected]