How Does Magnetic Therapy Work?
Magnet therapy takes many different forms. In some cases, magnets are applied to illness-affected areas with the help of wraps, shoe inserts, self-adhesive strips, belts, or "magnetic jewellery" like bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. Other products include magnetic mattress pads and blankets, as well as magnetic-field-generating machines and even magnet-conditioned water.
Since scientific support for its use is so limited, it's difficult to determine how magnetic therapy might promote healing. However, proponents maintain that magnets can stimulate circulation, relax the blood vessels, increase endorphin levels, reduce muscle tension, and normalize metabolic functioning.
Magnetic Therapy Research
Even though claims that magnetic therapy can treat diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis are unfounded, there is some evidence that it may help relieve pain related to these chronic conditions:
1) Arthritis
In a 2004 study of 194 adults with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, researchers found that those who wore magnetic bracelets for 12 weeks had a decrease in arthritis-associated pain. Meanwhile, a 2001 study of 64 people with rheumatoid arthritis of the knee showed that 68% of those who used magnetic therapy reported feeling better or much better after one week.
2) Chronic Pelvic Pain
For a 2002 study of 32 women with chronic pelvic pain, one group of patients had active or placebo magnets applied to their abdomens for 24 hours a day. After four weeks of continuous use, those who received the active magnets reported significantly lower pain levels than at the start of the study.
3) Fibromyalgia
After six weeks of sleeping on magnetized mattress pads, 13 women with fibromyalgia reported significantly less pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and next-day tiredness. A control group of 12 women (who slept on non-magnetized mattresses) had smaller improvements in pain, sleep, fatigue, and tiredness. The study's authors note that improvements in both groups might have been due to use of a better mattress pad.
More Science on Magnetic Therapy
There is also evidence that magnetic therapy may help reduce neck pain, post-polio pain, and diabetic foot pain. But in studies on the use of magnetic therapy for relief of chronic low back pain and wrist pain related to carpal tunnel syndrome, researchers found magnets no more effective than placebo treatments.
Magnetic therapy may show promise in the treatment of female urinary continence, however: In a 2004 study of 24 patients, 58% of participants showed improvement after eight weeks of receiving twice-weekly magnetic stimulation of the pelvic floor.
Cautions
If you're undergoing radiology, it's important to avoid the use of magnetic devices. Pregnant women and people with cardiac pacemakers should also forego magnetic therapy.
In addition, it's important to consult a healthcare professional about the condition you're seeking to alleviate through magnetic therapy, rather than letting a potential serious health problem go untreated.
Do Magnets Have Healing Power?
Alternative practitioners have long said YES, and recent studies suggest that they may be right.In a recent study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found magnets to be more effective than sham magnets at blocking pain caused by post-polio syndrome. (This syndrome, marked by leg pain, affects up to 20% of polio sufferers later in life.)
In the controlled study, 76% of patients treated with a magnet got pain relief. Only 18% treated with a sham magnet got relief.
Growing Body of Evidence Suggests Magnet Therapy Works
In other studies, magnets have proven effective against:-
Fibromyalgia
- Researchers at Tufts
University School of
Medicine in Boston showed
that magnets help relieve
muscle pain caused by this
mysterious condition.
-
In the
study, patients who
slept on magnetic
mattresses experienced
greater pain relief than
patients who slept on
ordinary mattresses.
- Diabetic neuropathy - In research conducted at New Your Medical College of Valhalla, magnetic foot pads were more effective than nonmagnetic foot pads at relieving numbness, tingling and pain associated with this diabetes-related problem. Evidence suggests that roughly 80% of chronic pain sufferers could benefit form magnetic therapy. That is true for virtually any form of pain.
How Magnets Relieve Pain
When held against the skin, magnets relax capillary walls, thereby boosting blood flow to the painful area.They also help prevent the muscle spasms that underlie many forms of pain-apparently by interfering with muscle contractions. And-they interfere with the electrochemical reactions that take place within nerve cells, impeding their ability to transmit pain messages to the brain.
Of course, chronic pain can be controlled with aspirin and other over-the-counter and prescription painkiller. But unlike pain medications, magnets do not carry any risk of side effects.
Selecting Medical Magnets
Medical magnets come in a dizzying range of shapes, sizes and strengths. They range in price from about $5 all the way to $900.It is usually best to start with one or more coin-shaped magnets made of the rare earth metal neodymium-boron. For most applications, these "neo" magnets work just as well as-and cost less than-other magnets.
Magnetism is measured in gauss. A typical refrigerator magnet is about 10 gauss. That is too weak to penetrate the skin-and unlikely to be helpful for anything more than a minor bruise.
Medical magnets range in strength from 450 gauss to 10,000 gauss. The higher the gauss, the better the pain relief.
Putting Magnets to Work
The magnet should be affixed to the skin directly over the painful area. Some people use ordinary adhesive bandages to affix the magnets. But Transpore, a paper tape made by 3M, works better. It holds well, and it doesn't pull the hairs from the skin when it is removed.If the magnet fails to provide relief within a few days, reposition the magnet over the nearest acupuncture point. To locate these points on the body, consult a book on acupuncture.
If repositioning the magnet fails to bring relief within 30 days, odds are it's not going to work. Switch to another type of magnet or speak with your doctor about using pain killing medication or another conventional approach.
- Aching Feet - Magnetic insoles can relieve foot pain and the achy feelings in the legs after you've been standing all day.
- Arthritis - If pain is limited to your fingers, a neo magnet taped to the affected joint should do the trick. Or, you can wear a magnetic wrist band.
- Back Pain - Place four magnets about 1.5" on either side of the spine, two per side. If applying and removing several magnets proves troublesome, use a three to four inch ceramic strip magnet or a magnetic back brace.
- Headache - Tape magnets to your temples or to the back of your head, just above the neck. Or-use a magnetic headband.
- Tennis Elbow - Use a magnetic band around the elbow. The same band also relieves hand and arm pain caused by repetitive strain injury.