Peripheral Magnetic Stimulation

Peripheral magnetic stimulation (PMS) or so-called transcutaneous magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive method of delivering a rapidly pulsed, high-intensity magnetic field to the periphery other than the brain. Interest in the research and clinical applications has increased over the last three decades as it is considered a novel, painless, and easy approach for many neurological and musculoskeletal conditions.

Humankind has been trying to use magnetism to treat illness for more than thousands of years. Almost 190 years ago, Faraday discovered that a time-varying current creates a magnetic field that can induce another current in a nearby conductive medium. Around 60 years ago, Kolin et al. first demonstrated that an alternating magnetic field could stimulate a nerve in an animal model. In 1982, a group of researchers from the University of Sheffield was the first to report developing a practical magnetic peripheral stimulator and using it to stimulate human peripheral nerves. This magnetic stimulator’s main difference from the previously developed pulsed electromagnetic field device (PEMF) was its much higher peak magnetic field strength.