by
Maria Teresa De Donato, PhD, RND, CNC, CMH, CHom
For
centuries the Western world has shown a great skepticism towards
biomagnetism and only in relatively recent times started to recognize
its potential, beneficial effects on human health. To the contrary,
other civilizations, from the Indians to the Chinese, from the
Eastern Mediterranean to the Australian Aboriginals and from the
native Africans going back to the ancient Egyptians, whose priests
used magnets in some of their religious rituals, they all made use of
it though probably not completely understanding its dynamics.
Despite
that, they never doubted about its intrinsic efficacy and validity
with some among them being either physicians, physicists or
researchers trying to move a step forward in order to improve the
understanding of it and its possible application in the sphere of
human health. Among them, there were the Greek physician Galen, who
witnessed magnetism being used for its purgative powers around 200
B.C.; the Persian physician Ali Abbas, who used it to treat spasm and
gout; the Swiss physician Paracelsus, who used this methodology to
cure hernias, gout and jaundice; and the French surgeon Ambroise
Paré who, in the sixteenth century, applied this technique to cure
open wounds and injuries.
Although magnetism dates
back to very ancient times with the Chinese using the compass already
around A.D. 100 and the Arabs, Vikings and Europeans utilizing
magnets in navigation during the Middle Age, the term biomagnetism is
more recent. It refers to the phenomenon of magnet fields produced
by living organisms and their interaction with the earth's magnetic
field and artificial magnets fields which may have the same or
similar intensity.
During the last several
decades, three scientists in particular were able to make some
breakthroughs in the fields of magnetism and biomagnetism: David
Cohen, John Wikswo and Samuel Williamson.
David Cohen, a PhD
physicist in experimental nuclear physics, now faculty member at the
Harvard Medical School, was interested in working with large magnets.
In 1963 he came up with the idea of creating a magnetically shielded
room to protect people from external magnetic influences, like it was
done in the case of nuclear experiments. This allowed him, later on,
to obtain clearer signals which enabled him to verify the heart's
magnetic field. He went on with further research to obtain a more
complete magnetic shielding ending up, in 1969, to the building of a
more complex shielded room at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of
Technology). At the same time James Zimmerman co-invented the
radio-frequency superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID),
a quite sensitive detector which the two used in the new built
shielded room to check the body's heart signal. The now clear
signals enabled Cohen to finally create the “magna carta of
biomagnetism”. He was the first to measure a clear MEG
(Magnetoencephalography). For this reason he was also named the
father of the MEG.
John Wikswo, a biological
physicist, has been working on biomagnetism and cardiac
electrophysiology, that is the science which studies the electrical
activities of the heart, and magnetocardiography (MCG), a method
which allows to measure the magnetic fields produced by electrical
activity in the heart. Through the use of a SQUID magnetometer, in
1980 he was the first to measure the magnetic field of an isolated
nerve by threading a frog sciatic nerve through a wire-wound, fer
rite-core toroid and detecting the induced current. Along with Ken
Swinney, Wikswo was also able to calculate the magnetic filed of a
nerve axon.
Samuel Williamson, a
physicist and a neuroscientist, was the co-developer of magnetic
source imaging (MSI), a technique he used to visualize and study
brain activity especially in relation to vision and hearing.
Today the use of magnets
and other electrical devices in the medical field is widely spread
and also considered one of the most effective tools to diagnose
illnesses. The most known examples are those of the MRI (magnetic
resonance imaging), which has been replacing X-ray diagnosis due to
the fact that MRI is safer and also more accurate, and
magnetoencephalography as a tool to record brain's electrical
activity.
According to Dr. Wolfgang
Ludwig, PhD, Director of the Institute for Biophysics in Horb,
Germany, the reason why magnetic field therapy works depends on the
fact that it “penetrates the whole body and can treat every
organ without chemical side effects.” (Trivieri & Anderson,
2002, p. 326) As consequence, this method can be applied to a wide
range of health issues ranging from “cancer to rheumatoid disease,
from infections and inflammation to insomnia and sleep disorders,
from circulatory problems to fractures and pain and even
environmental stress.” (p. 327)
Its efficacy is due to
the fact that – as Dr. Zimmerman, PhD, President of the
Bio-Electro-Magnetics Institute in Reno, Nevada, stated - “the
body's nervous system is governed, in part, by varying patterns of
ionic currents and electromagnetic fields.” This means that
the magnetic fields, produced either by magnets or by electromagnetic
generating devices, penetrate the human body impacting the
functioning of the nervous system and cells by stimulating the
metabolism and increasing the level of oxygen in each cell. (p. 328)
Disclaimer: The
information above are intended for educational purpose only and not
as a medical advice. Whatever health issue you might have or be
concerned with, consult first with your physician. For any other
information about how I can assist you, please contact me at
info@dedoholistic.com
References:
Alternative
Medicine – The Definitive Guide. (Trivieri & Anderson, 2002, pp
326-328)
Magnet Therapy
– The Gentle and Effective Way to Balance Body Systems (Birla &
Hemlin, 1999, pp. 1-13)
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