2002 Volume 9 Issue 4 Pages 426-431
The effectiveness of Static Magnetic Fields (SMF) for pain was studied in rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA). AA rats were raised for 6 months as the chronic pain model. These model animals were exposed to SMF and the rats tail skin temperature, locomotor activity and bone mineral density (BMD) were measured using thermography, blood analysis and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA).
In AA rats, the tail temperature and locomotor activity were obviously lower than in control rats. After exposure to SMF, the tail temperature and locomotor activity in AA rats were significantly higher when compared with those before exposure to SMF. Moreover, the decrease of BMD was significantly inhibited.
These findings suggest that the pain relief effects of SMF might be primarily due to improvement in the blood circulation, and the increase of BMD was considered partly ascribable to the increase of locomotor activity.