When I first heard of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Therapy (NMRT), the first thing that came to mind was Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The full name for MRI is Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging and it comes as no great surprise that both techniques are based upon exactly the same principle.
What is the principle?
Hydrogen atoms are the most numerous type of atom in the human body. At the centre of each hydrogen atom is an even smaller particle called a proton. Protons are like tiny magnets and are extremely sensitive to magnetic fields.
An MRI scanner contains a huge magnet which causes the protons in your body to line up in the same direction. The scanner then sends short bursts of radio waves to the part of the body being scanned. These radio waves knock the protons out of alignment. When the radio waves are switched off, the protons realign with one another. This ‘on/off’ process sends out radio signals which are detected by the scanner. These signals provide information about both the location of the protons and the type of tissue within which they are located. The scanner then uses this information to assemble a detailed image of the area being scanned, in the same way that a computer screen creates a picture out of millions of pixels.
The principle behind NMRT is exactly the same. However, in NMRT the frequency of the radio waves are changed so that rather than being reflected back as in MRI, they are absorbed by whatever type of tissue is being treated.
The treatment is trademarked as Multi Bio Signalling Technology (MBST). On the MBST Therapy website, they explain:
“When this ‘energy’ is absorbed by the tissue, it can then be used to recharge the cell as it is the right resonance. This means that, with repeated treatment, we can get the cell back to the right potential energy and healthily regenerate and turn back the clock on the cell making it “younger”.”
In a nutshell, NMRT seems primarily aimed at assisting the regeneration of bone and cartilage cells.
MBST Therapy say the treatment has been available for 17 years and came about after people reported having less pain following an MRI scan.
What conditions do they say that MBST Therapy may help?
They say the therapy can help “people who suffer from a degenerative disease in joints and bones and metabolic bone disorders, such as osteoarthritis and osteoporosis … bulging discs, sports injuries, broken bones, cartilage tears, ligament and tendon damage … and people who suffer from pain and reduced mobility due to degeneration of bone tissue and joints.”
Has there been any research?
There have been a number of studies published on this treatment. Having read several, I think the overall feeling among the scientific community can best be summed up as ‘quietly positive but with wider scale clinical trials required’.
One small study that particularly caught my eye was into the effectiveness of NMRT as a treatment for osteoporosis. The researchers concluded “we believe that this case report study provides important information, despite the fact that there is rather a small number of the cases. All reported cases are well documented and show that NMRT might be the new non-pharmaceutical method able to reduce risk of fracture … But, because that is not a double blind placebo controlled study, there is need for more studies about the MBST treatment of osteoporosis.”
As discussed in an earlier article, DEXA scans often reveal the existence of quite extensive, but localised, osteoporosis in people with longstanding CRPS. Of course, this carries a significantly increased risk of them suffering fractures. Given that NMRT is non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical and (seemingly) safe, I just wonder whether in the future this technology may be of some benefit to those with CRPS. Again, further research is required!
Is the treatment readily available?
Unlike many relatively new treatments and therapies, licensed practitioners in the UK are already offering the technology to the public. A list of providers is available on the MBST Therapy website.
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