The Benefits of Magnet Therapy

Magnetic therapy is based on the theory that when delivered directly to the body magnetic fields can stimulate healing from a range of health problems.

What is the history behind it?

Interest in magnets as a source of healing dates back many centuries. A 16th century physician, Paracelsus, thought that because magnets attract iron they might attract and eliminate diseases from the body. In the middle Ages, doctors used magnets to treat gout, arthritis, poisoning, and baldness. The modern version of magnet therapy reportedly began in the 1970s, when researcher Albert Roy Davis, PhD, noticed that positive and negative magnetic charges had different effects on human biological systems. He claimed that magnets could kill cancer cells in animals and could also cure arthritis pain, glaucoma, infertility, and other conditions..

Using Magnet Therapy

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 normalise metabolic functioning.

Benefits of Magnet Therapy

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

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.

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.

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-magnetised 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.

Others -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. However, magnetic therapy may show promise in the treatment of female urinary continence .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.

Remember

Magnets used for magnetic therapy are generally considered safe. However, implantable medical devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, or infusion pumps may be adversely affected by magnets. Also, relying on this type of treatment alone and avoiding or delaying conventional medical care for cancer may have serious health consequences.