GB2384433A - Magnetic therapy device - Google Patents

Abstract

A magnetic therapy device has a plurality of magnets 10 (12,14,16 fig 1) attached to a flexible elongate carrier 2 for placing the magnets adjacent the animal or human body, the magnets being arranged such that every one presents the same pole towards the body of the patient. The carrier can encircle a part of the body and has hook and eye attachment means, one end having a regions of hooks (22 fig 1) and the opposite end having a region of eyes (20 fig 1). The carrier may comprise two cloth layers 4, 6 which are stitched together to hold the magnet 10. The magnet 10 may have a stainless steel backing plate 30. Also, a layer of comfort material 34, such a wool, may be provided on the side of the carrier adjacent the patient.

Description

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MAGNOTHERAPY DEVICE AND USE THEREOF BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a magnotherapy device for use in magnotherapy, especially but not exclusively as practised on the human body.

Magnotherapy describes the practise of placing magnets adjacent an animal or human body in order to cure a disease, alleviate symptoms or enhance performance of the animal/human.

The mechanism by which magnotherapy works is not well understood. However the fact that it works on animals as well as humans suggests that there is a physical interaction between the magnetic field and the body, and that the results are not psychosomatic. A discussion of magnotherapy can be found in the book"Magnetic Health, Modem Day Healing with Magnets"by D R Price (ISBN0953679705). It is believed that the application of a magnetic field restores the efficiency of the blood stream, and that the improvement in circulation helps the body repair itself more efficiently resulting in improvements in the skin conditions, improvements in the cosmetic appearance of the skin, and improvements in conditions including cramp, angina, local aches and pains, arthritis, migraine, ME, MS and gout.

Magnotherapy practitioners have developed a terminology in which one pole of the magnet is described as positive and the other pole of the magnet is described as negative. This convention will be used throughout the specification, although it differs from the terminology conventionally used which refers to magnets having north poles and south poles. The terms positive and negative as used herein are defined as follows: For a freely moveable magnet the"negative"pole is the pole which is attracted towards the geographic South Pole of the earth, and correspondingly the"positive"pole is the pole attracted to the geographical North Pole.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a magnotherapy product comprising a plurality of magnets carried on a flexible carrier, such that it can conform to the surface of part of a human or animal body, and wherein the magnets present the same magnetic pole towards the body.

Preferably the carrier has attachment means thereon such that, in use, it can encircle part of a body such that the magnets are adjacent flesh of the body.

Preferably a first side of the product is adapted, in use, to face the flesh of a wearer.

Advantageously the negative pole of a magnet is arranged, in use, to face the flesh of the wearer.

The magnet may be encapsulated within a housing. The housing may protect the surface of the magnet from damage due to moisture, dust or physical contact. In an embodiment of the present invention, the flexible carrier completely encloses the magnets.

Preferably a metallic plate is provided adjacent the positive pole of the magnet. The plate is advantageously non-magnetic. The plate is preferably non-ferromagnetic The plate may, for example, be made of stainless steel. The plate advantageously covers the entirety of the positive pole and acts to alter the magnetic field around the positive pole so as to attenuate the magnetic field strength above and adjacent the plate. This serves to reduce the tendency of the magnet to attract magnetic material in the vicinity of the user. The presence of the plate also distorts the magnetic field in the vicinity of the negative pole such that the field strength near the negative pole is increased and consequently the field propagates further into the body of a user.

The plate advantageously either matches the shape of the magnet, i. e. it is the same size and shape, or is slightly smaller than the magnet. Thus the plate does not overhang the magnet, or alternatively does not overhang any substantial amount such that the magnetic field around the magnet is substantially identical to that generated by a non-overhanging plate.

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Preferably the attachment means comprises a hook region of one end of an elongate carrier which engages with an eye region at another end of the fastener. A hook and eye fastening method is commercially available under the trade mark VELCRO. Thus the product may be positioned adjacent and around parts of the body in order to provide local relief.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of treatment of skin ulcers, comprising placing only a negative pole of a magnet adjacent a user's flesh.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided the use of a magnet in the manufacture of a therapeutic device for the treatment of skin ulcers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS The present invention will further be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a plan section through a magnotherapy device constituting an embodiment of the present invention; and Figure 2 is a cross section in the vicinity of one of the magnets.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The magnotherapy device shown in Figure 1 comprises an elongate carrier 2 generally composed of first and second layers 4 and 6 of hard wearing synthetic, for example Neoprene, cloth as shown in Figure 2. The layers of cloth 4 and 6 define a magnet receiving region 8 therebetween in which a plurality of magnets, in this case 10,12, 14 and 16 are disposed. The magnets are held in place by stitching although other suitable attachment means may be used (not shown).

The carrier 2 carries a first attachment region 20 at one end thereof, which may, for example, be in the form of a first region of a plurality of eyelets which co-operate with a second region 22 comprising a plurality of hooks such that the first regions 20 and 22 inter-engage. Such an attachment system is commercially available under the trade name VELCRO. The second portion 22 is carried on a flexible extension 24.

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The magnets 10,12, 14 and 16 are disc shaped and formed of a rare earth magnetic alloy, such as neodymium iron boron as these magnets give high flux for low physical volume.

The magnet is positioned such that its negative pole is facing towards the layer of material 6 which, in use, faces towards the user. A stainless steel plate is positioned adjacent the magnet on the side thereof which, in use, faces away from the users flesh. In a preferred embodiment the magnet is 5 mm thick and 20 mm in diameter and has a magnetic strength of 2300 Gauss on each face thereof. The steel plate 30 associated with the magnet is 2 mm thick by 20 mm in diameter and in this example is formed of 430 grade ferritic stainless steel.

The effect of the steel plate 30 is to distort the magnetic field such that it becomes decreased on the side, labelled A, which faces away from the user's body and becomes increased on the side B which faces towards the user's body. The following table shows that by including the stainless steel plate the magnetic field at a distance between 10 and 20 mm from the surface of the magnotherapy device is increased by approximately 60%.

Distance Magnetic Field Magnetic Field from surface Reading (Gauss) Reading (Gauss) (mm) side with steel side without steel plate-Side A plate-Side B 790 2700 5 530 1290 10 300 500 15 180 280 20 100 160 30 50 70 40 20 32 50 15 20 60 5 10 70 0 5 The side of the device which, in use, faces towards a wearer is lined with a layer of "comfort"material 34 which may, for example, be a real or synthetic wool.

In use, the user fastens the device around a portion of their body, typically a leg, which is suffering from skin ulcers. The magnets are set to lie in the vicinity of the skin ulcer such that the magnetic field they produce penetrates the skin. In accordance with the principals ofmagnotherapy, the magnetic field interacts with the body giving rise to a curative effect.

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However, placement of the device adjacent the knee or ankle is also effective at providing a healing action.

Claims (12)

1. A magnotherapy product comprising a plurality of magnets carried on a flexible carrier such that can conform to the surface of part of a human or animal body, and wherein the magnets each present the same magnetic pole to the body.

2. A magnotherapy product as claimed in claim 1, in which the flexible earner has attachment means thereon such that, in use, it can encircle part of a body such that magnets are adjacent flesh of the body.

3. A magnotherapy product as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which a non-magnetic plate is positioned adjacent a respective magnet.

4. A magnotherapy device as claimed in claim 3, in which the plate is either the same size or smaller than the associated magnet.

5. A magnotherapy device as claimed in claim 3, in which the plate does not overhang the associated magnet.

6. A magnotherapy device as claimed in claim 3, in which the plate is made of stainless steel.

7. A magnotherapy device as claimed in claim 3, in which the plate is positioned adjacent the side of the magnet which faces away from the wearer's body.

8. A magnotherapy device as claimed in claim 2, in which the attachment means comprises a hook or clasp region which engages with an eye region such that the hook or clasp region and eye region inter-engage.

9. A magnotherapy device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the negative pole of each magnet faces towards the wearer's flesh.

10. The use of a magnotherapy device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims for the treatment of skin ulcers by placing the device adjacent a user's flesh.

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11. A method of treatment of skin ulcers, comprising placing only the negative pole of a magnet adjacent a user's flesh.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 in which the magnet is positioned adjacent the ulcer.