Abstract:
The application of a magnetic field as an intervention method in health care, commonly known as magnetotherapy, has been debated and has undergone many ups and downs in the past thousands of years of human history. Because of inconsistent results and its unclear mechanism, magnetotherapy has not been widely accepted so far. However, in recent years, not only transcranial magnetic stimulation using pulsed magnetic fields has been approved for clinical application, but also increased amount of experimental evidence has shown that static magnetic fields (SMF) have promising potential in health intervention. This paper mainly addresses the influence of SMF on blood flow, bone and pain, summarizes relevant research findings, and analyzes their limitations and dilemmas. We hope that researchers with different academic backgrounds can collaborate and perform standardized and systematic in-depth research to optimize the magnetic field parameters based on analysis of the biological effects, so that SMF can be scientifically and effectively applied in health care intervention in the near future.