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Easing pain with magnetic therapy |
Extract from GP Medicine October 31 1999 |
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| Somerset GP, Dr Richard Lawson was
intrigued to find that a natural cure benefited patients
with osteoarthritis |
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About five years ago, a patient handed me a
coil of flexible magnetic strip and suggested that I try it
on patients with rheumatism. He said that it had helped him
through wearing it on his wrists.
But I filed the strip under ‘miscellaneous’ and
thought no more about magnets until this year, when I encountered
more claims of their effectiveness in a variety of painful
situations.
My first experiment with a wrist magnet
Being prepared to experiment, I gave the wrist magnet to a
relative with chronic pain in the arm. To my surprise, she
reported a rapid improvement.
Since then, I have suggested using the magnet to my patients
and more than half have reported improvement in their pain.
If the patients present with chronic musculoskeletal problems
during a normal surgery, they are offered the chance to try
a magnet. It is explained to them that the chance of success
is more than 50 per cent but that the treatment is not available
on the NHS.
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Many patients are prepared to risk the expense,
and the supplier of the magnet is often prepared to refund the
cost if the patient has no improvement.
I use a Bioflow magnet which costs £30. Cheaper alternatives
are available by mail order but seem less robust. My practice
has three magnets available for free trial, and patients who
are unable to pay may use one of these.
Since January 1997, 34 patients have tried the magnets. In no
case did symptoms worsen. Four males and 11 females reported
no change in symptoms. Nineteen patients — 14 female and
5 males — reported improvements and six of these showed
marked improvement. The average age of the patients in each
group was similar.
The conditions for which the magnets improved the patient’s
symptoms included osteoarthritis of the hands, hips and knees,
cervical radiculopathy and rotator cuff syndrome. Patients with
sciatica, epicondylitis, chronic myalgia did not respond to
the treatment with the magnets. |
Analgesic properties of magnetism
There is a growing body of literature on the therapeutic effects
of magnetism, mainly from Eastern Europe, but increasingly from
the USA as well.
Many of these reports are about the analgesic properties of
magnetism but there are also descriptions of beneficial effects
in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and
multiple sclerosis. These include improvements in visual memory
and other cognitive functions. Visual neglect in Parkinson’s
disease has also responded to the treatment.
The conceptual stumbling block to the investigation of this
form of treatment is the widespread notion that magnets only
affect objects made of iron.
However, ferromagnetism is only one form of magnetic function.
Other known forms include diamagnetism, where a magnetic field
induces a current and subsequently an opposing magnetic force
in a molecule.
Magnetic Resonance imaging is an example of diamagnetism. This
imaging technique uses the fact that every electron, as it spins,
acts as a small bar-magnet and that magnetic effect can be ordered
and summated.
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Although the causal mechanism for the therapeutic
effects of wrist magnets is not known, it is likely that electrically
charged macro-molecules are ordered as they pass through the
magnetic field, helping physiological processes to work more
efficiently.
Placebo effect cannot be ruled out
The placebo effect cannot be ruled out on the basis of my anecdotal
evidence. But whatever the causal mechanism, the improvement
in the comfort and quality of my patient’s lives is clear.
A double-blind clinical trial using dummy bracelets would help
establish the efficiency of the treatment. But in common with
many other non-drug treatments, a blind trial is not possible
as patients can easily find out whether they are wearing a real
magnet. In the meantime, experimentation with this approach
to pain relief cannot do any harm, and may do much good.
Dr Lawson in a GP in Congresbury, Somerset
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Magnets have improved patient’s symptoms in
osteoarthritis of the hands, hips and knees |
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Dr Lawson’s anecdotal findings
· ·He suggested the use of magnets
to patients after a relative found them very effective for chronic
pain.
· · Thirty-four patients with
chronic pain, mainly due to osteoarthritis, tried magnetic wrist
bands
· · More than half
the patients found that the magnets helped relieve their pain
· · The patients gained considerable
relief from the magnetic wristband |
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Dr Lawson’s case study
· · A 66 year old man presented
with severe brachalgia with parasthesia and weakness in his
left hand. Physiotherapy caused the pain to worsen.
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·After three months, he developed pain in his
right arm and left sciatic pain. The shoulder pain progressed
but he responded to corticosteroid injections.
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· The patient had borne this stoically but developed
muscular chest pain possibly related to hyperventilation. He
was treated with rebreathing techniques
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· He visited the local pain clinic nine months
after the brachalgia began but found that TENS was not helpful
· · A year after his symptoms
began, I advised the patient to try a wrist magnet. Within eight
days he declared himself to be much better.
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· The pain remained controlled until one day
he had a sudden relapse. He discovered he had left the magnet
off and the pain settled within an hour of reapplying the magnet |
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Magnotherapy is the application of a magnetic field to living
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in recent times:
Natural remedies can be a valuable alternative to synthetic medication
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Magnetic bracelets offer natural arthritis pain relief for both
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WARNING - Bioflow magnetic bracelets products should
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Ecoflow Distributors are not usually medical practitioners
and are therefore not qualified to provide medical advice. There
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it is most unlikely that Bioflow can do any harm. However, if
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