Daily Health News - April 2005
Recent Research:
A
research team at Peninsula Medical School (Plymouth, England) conducted
a study that was recently published in the BMJ (formerly named the
British Medical Journal) on the use of magnets to relieve
osteoarthritis pain. The study included 194 people with osteoarthritis
in the hip or knee. They were separated into three groups -- one group
wore a standard strength bio-magnetic band... a second group wore one
with weaker strength... and the third group wore a placebo band. After
12 weeks of wearing the devices, the group wearing the standard
strength magnets reported significant reduction in pain versus those
wearing the weak one or the placebo.
How it Works
To get a
better understanding of what bio-magnet therapy is about, I spoke with
neurologist Michael I. Weintraub, MD, clinical professor of both
neurology and internal medicine at New York Medical College in Valhalla
and adjunct clinical professor of neurology at Mt. Sinai Medical School
in New York City. Dr. Weintraub has been studying magnet use for a
number of years, in particular for his patients suffering from the pain
of diabetic neuropathy (nerve disorders that can cause numbness,
tingling and burning pain in people with diabetes).
One problem
in evaluating magnets, says Dr. Weintraub, has been that past studies
were poorly designed, combining different types and strengths of
magnets with different ailments into a single study. Although initially
a skeptic, Dr. Weintraub designed and conducted carefully controlled
studies with a placebo group on magnet use, including one with 375
people suffering from diabetic neuropathy. The results were
enlightening -- wearing magnets relieved sensations of burning and
tingling as well as exercise-associated pain.
Dr. Weintraub says
that even though doctors don't know why magnets work, he is now
convinced that magnets often can be more effective in providing pain
relief than even drugs.
Confusion Abounds
Okay -- so magnets have worked in the lab. How can you make use of them at home? Here's a primer on using magnets...
Bio-Magnet
strength: Magnet strength is measured in gauss -- a refrigerator magnet
is 10 gauss, while magnets used to treat pain go as high as 10,000
gauss or more. Dr. Weintraub explains that the quality and strength of
the magnet is critical to its success -- it must be strong enough to
penetrate the affected tissue, which might be quite deep or at a
distance from the site of the magnet. A basic magnet, one with about
300 gauss to 500 gauss, can penetrate an inch or so, but Dr. Weintraub
says that if, for instance, you are wearing a magnet to relieve deep
back pain from a disc problem, you are going to need a stronger one. In
that case, start with one that is well over 1,000 gauss and go higher
if you find that isn't strong enough to ease pain. For pain in the
finger joints, he suggests a wristband (not a bracelet that doesn't
stay flush to the skin) that is at least 350 gauss.
How long to
wear it: The amount of time you need to wear your magnet is another
question. Wearing these isn't like taking an aspirin -- you should plan
to have a magnet on for some time. Dr. Weintraub had his study subjects
wear magnets 24 hours a day for four months. He says this was an
arbitrary decision, but the effectiveness indicates that frequent
wearing over a long period of time is likely advisable. The good news
is that magnets don't wear out -- the material supporting the magnet
may (such as in the shoe inserts), but Dr. Weintraub says the magnet
itself will keep going and going. Dr. Weintraub reports that some
patients find that to achieve ongoing pain control, they need to wear
the magnets on a steady basis. However, it is unclear if this is true
for all conditions that magnets are used for.