- Alternative Systems of
Medical Practice
- Bioelectromagnetic
Applications
Electromagnetic
Fields
Bioeletromagnetics (BEM) is an emerging
science that studies how living organisms interact with electromagnetic (EM)
fields. Electrical phenomena are found in all living organisms, and electrical
currents in the body can produce magnetic fields that extend outside the body.
Those that extend outside the body can be influenced by external magnetic and
EM fields. Changes in the body’s natural fields may produce physical and
behavioral changes.
Endogenous (internal) fields are
distinguished from exogenous (external) fields. The latter can be natural,
such as the earth’s geomagnetic field, or artificial, such as power lines,
transformers, appliances, radio transmitters, or medical devices. Oscillating
nonionizing EM fields in the extremely low frequency (ELF) range can have
vigorous biological effects that may be beneficial. Changes in the field
configuration and exposure pattern of low-level EM fields can produce specific
biological responses, and certain frequencies have specific effects on body
tissues.
EM Research
& Studies
The mechanism by which EM fields produce
biological effects is under increasing study. At the cutting edge of BEM
research is the question of how endogenous EM fields change with
consciousness. Nonionizing BEM medical applications are classified according
to whether they are thermal or nonthermal in biological tissue. Thermal
applications of nonionizing radiation include radio frequency (RF)
hyperthermia, laser and RF surgery, and RF diathermy.
The most important BEM modalities in
alternative medicine are nonthermal applications of nonionizing radiation.
Major new applications of nonthermal, nonionizing EM fields are bone repair,
nerve stimulation, wound healing, treatment of osteoarthritis,
electroacupuncture, tissue regeneration, and immune system stimulation.
In the study of other alternative
medical treatments, BEM offers a unified conceptual framework that may help
explain how diagnostic and therapeutic techniques such as acupuncture and
homeopathy may produce results that are hard to understand from a more
conventional viewpoint.
National Institutes of Health
Adapted from Alternative Medicine:
Expanding Medical Horizons, a report prepared under the auspices of the
Workshop on Alternative Medicine, held in Chantilly, VA on September 14-16,
1992.
Disclaimer: The NIH cautions users
not to seek the therapies described on these pages without the consultation of a
licensed healthcare provider. Inclusion of a treatment or resource on the NCCAM
Web site does not imply endorsement by the NCCAM, the NIH, or the Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Path:
Home>Education>Health
Information>Bioelectromagnetic
Applications
|
