Magnets and Pain Relief Statistical Written Assignment Is it possible that magnetic elds can reduce pain? A. fascinating study by Dr. Carlos Vallbona suggests it is. Background Magnetic elds have been shown to have an effect on living tissue as early as the 1930's. Plants have been shown to have an improved growth rate when raised in a magnetic eld [Mericle et al., [964). More recently, doctors and physical therapists have used either static or uctuating magnetic elds to aid in pain management, most commonly for broken bones. 1n the case study presented here1 Carlos Vallbona and his colleagues sought to answer the question I1Can the chronic pain experienced by postpolio patients be relieved by magnetic elds applied directly over an identified pain trigger point?" Mericle, R. F. et al. "Plant Growth Responses" in: Bioiogicai e'ecis ofmagnericeids New York: Plenium Press 1964. pl Hit[95. Vallbona. Carlos et. al.. "Response of pain to static Magnetic fields in postpolio patients, a double blind Pilot study" Archive's ofPhysicai Medicine and Rehabilitation. Vol T8, American congress of rehabilitation medicine. p HUD[2433. Experimental Design Summary Patients experiencing post-polio pain syndrome were recruited. Half'of the patients were treated with an active magnetic device and half were treated with an inactive device. All patients rated their pain before and after application of'the device. Details The experimenters recruited 5|] patients who not only had postpolio syndrome but also reported muscular or arthritic pain. These patients had signicant pain for at least 4 weeks and had not taken any painkillers or antiinflammatories for at least 3 hours before the study. The subjects all had a trigger point or painful region and had a body weight of less than 140% of the predicted weight for their age and height. and had a trigger point or circumscribed painful area. The magnets and placebos [described below) were supplied in equal numbers from Bioen. Each magnet or placebo was placed in number coded envelopes and delivered according to its shape. The code for placebos and magnets was not broken until the end of the study. One site of reported pain was evaluated and a trigger point for this pain was found by palpitation. The patient was asked to subjectively grade pain at the trigger point under palpitation on a scale from 1 to [D (I is the least pain, increasing to ID]. Following the initial pain assessment, an envelope containing a device was randomly selected from the box containing both active and inactive devices. This device was applied to the pain area for 45 minutes and then removed. The patient then evaluated his or her pain again at the region or trigger point. This second pain rating is the score analyzed here. Materials The magnets used in the study were Bioflex magnets. The magnetic field consists of concentrically arranged circles of alternating magnetic polarity. Active devices and identical inactive devices were used. Data Active Magnets Placebos Pre Post Change Pre Post Change 10 0 8 10 10 8 7 10 10 0 10 10 4 9 10 10 MASONOWA QU WNNN WUUN 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10