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Magnet therapy, or magnetic therapy, or magnotherapy is an alternative medicine claiming that certain medical disorders can be effectively treated by exposure to static magnetic fields. Note that this article treats claims concerning static magnetic fields, please see electromagnetic therapy for treatments involving pulsed magnetic fields.
Description
Proponents of magnet therapy claim that subjecting certain parts of the body to doses of magnetic fields has a beneficial effect. This belief has led to the popularization of an industry involving the sale of magnetic-based products for "healing" purposes: magnetic bracelets and jewelry; magnetic straps for wrists, ankles, and the back; shoe insoles, mattresses, and magnetic blankets (blankets with magnets woven into the material); and even water that has been "magnetized".
Scientific tests of magnet therapy
Scientific tests of magnetic therapy for the treatment of wrist pain from carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic low back pain have concluded that there is no health benefit from magnetic fields in those cases.
Legal regulations with the United states of America
Under FDA regulations, it is illegal to market a magnet therapy product in the United States that claims to treat any "significant" condition (such as cancer, HIV, AIDS, asthma, arthritis, or rheumatism).
Criticism
Criticism of magnet therapy focuses on scientific facts about magnets, including that :
- The typical magnet used is not strong enough to have a lasting effect on muscle tissue, bones, blood vessels, or organs.
- Some people working in physics research work for hours per day with their whole body immersed in magnetic fields far stronger than those from the bracelets, and there is no evidence they are more or less healthy than their peers.
- No magnet healing product manufacturers have demonstrated scientifically that they achieve what they claim, and most cannot even agree on what exactly the magnetic fields do.
- Some manufacturers claim that the magnets help to circulate the blood by some interaction with the iron in hemoglobin, a major component of red blood cells. However in its ionised form, iron is not ferromagnetic and cannot be affected by magnets.
- Others claim that the magnets can restore the body's theorised electromagnetic energy balance. There are also claims that the south pole of a magnet acts differently on the body than the north pole.
- Many of the websites that provide information and resources promoting the benefits of magnetic therapy belong to individuals and companies that profit from the sale of magnetic therapy products.
- Water is a diamagnetic material, and thus cannot be magnetized. In addition, attempts to sell "north pole" or "south pole" magnetized water to treat different conditions ignore the fact that even materials that can be magnetized inevitably acquire both a north and a south pole.
See also
External links
- Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? by James D. Livingston — a Skeptical Inquirer article
- Magnet therapy in the Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll, Ph.D.
- Magnet therapy — an editorial in the British Medical Journal
- Carter R, Aspy CB, Mold J. The effectiveness of magnet therapy for treatment of wrist pain attributed to carpal tunnel syndrome. J Fam Pract 2002;51: 38-40.
- Collacott EA, Zimmerman JT, White DW, Rindone JP. Bipolar permanent magnets for the treatment of chronic low back pain: a pilot study. JAMA 2000;283: 1322-5.
- http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/magnets.html
- Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? by James D. Livingston — a Skeptical Inquirer article
- http://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/safety/mri_safety.htm