Some people swear by the healing powers of magnetic fields, for example to relieve pain.

Magnetic field therapy assumes that all living beings possess an electromagnetic field that can be influenced or weakened by various factors, thus causing health problems. With the help of different types of magnetic field therapy, the electromagnetic field in the body should be positively influenced and thus health should be restored.

There are different forms of magnetic field therapy: a distinction is made between static and pulsating therapy. Both are non-invasive. In addition, there is the invasive magnetic field therapy, which is also called electro-osteostimulation. It can be assumed that as early as 2000 years ago, healers in China used magnetic stones for treatment. The ancient Romans and Egyptians are also said to have used the power of magnetic stones, magnetic bars and magnetic jewellery. The famous Greek physician Hippocrates (460 to 375 B.C.) also assumed that magnets have a healing power, and Paracelsus (1493 to 1541) also regularly included magnets in his therapeutic work.

The areas of application were broad and ranged from depressions, haemorrhoids and inflammations to the general strengthening of health and stimulation of self-healing powers. According to tradition, the physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734 to 1815) even restored sight to a blind pianist by means of a "magnetic cure". 

The discovery of electricity opened up completely new possibilities for the use of magnets. The "new" magnetic field therapy that developed as a result had little in common with the "old" magnetic therapy. In the 19th and 20th centuries many scientists studied the biophysical and physiological mechanisms of action of magnetic field therapy. However, these have not yet been fully researched and confirmed to this day, although there are now thousands of publications of medical studies concerning the effectiveness for various health complaints. 

The forms of therapy predominantly used today can be traced back to a procedure that was jointly developed by the surgeon Fritz Lechner and the physicist Werner Kraus in the 1970s. Pulsating magnetic fields were used for the first time.

Magnetic field therapy is based on the fact that every living creature or human cell has an electromagnetic field. It is assumed that health complaints arise when this field is weakened by various influences. In magnetic field therapy, technical devices are used to generate a weak magnetic field, which has a positive effect on the electromagnetic field in the cells and thus restores health.

The smallest "living" component of the human being is the cell. Every human being consists of approximately 100 trillion cells. Every single one of them must be permanently supplied with oxygen and nutrients. Between the outside and inside of the cell membrane there is an electrical voltage, the so-called membrane potential. The cells constantly communicate with each other. Wrong nutrition, environmental pollution, stress and much more can have negative effects. As a result, the cells can no longer work properly. If other stresses such as smoking, alcohol or similar are added, complaints such as chronic fatigue, headaches, loss of performance and sleep disorders can arise.

The membrane potential of the cells normally has a voltage of seventy to ninety millivolts. Representatives of magnetic field therapy assume that diseased cells have a lower membrane potential than healthy cells. By using the magnetic field, the cells are to be revitalized by a burst of energy in order to alleviate the symptoms or even cure them. The blood circulation in the vessels and thus the oxygen supply and the energy metabolism of the cells should be improved. The treatment also aims to increase the body's defences.