Facts About Healing Magnets

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) notes that magnets have been used for health purposes for centuries. Today, healing magnets are widely available in a variety of strengths and applications. They are used in alternative therapies to help relieve pain and treat diseases, but controversy exists about their effectiveness.

History

Magnets were used by the Greeks to treat arthritis as early as the third century. In the Middle Ages, doctors applied magnets to the skin to treat pain and inflammation and used magnets to remove arrowheads from the body. In the United States, the use of magnets expanded after the Civil War as healers treated internal conditions involving the stomach, kidney and liver, claiming that illnesses were caused when the magnetic fields existing in the human body were depleted.

How Healing Magnets Work

According to the American Cancer Society, some cells in the human body pulse with electromagnetic energy. Practitioners of magnetic healing believe that the energy fields produced by magnets can interact with these pulses. This interaction is said to then correct the electromagnetic imbalances that cause disease and improve the body's ability to heal itself. Magnet strength is usually measured in Gauss (G) units, with most products providing strengths of 300 to 5,000 G, with higher strengths providing greater pain relief.

Current Uses

You can purchase healing magnets in a variety of strengths and forms. Bracelets made of magnets designed to look like jewelry are said to relieve the pain from arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome. Shoe inserts include magnets that are intended to relieve foot pain. Small magnets designed to treat spot pain look like coins and are easily carried in a pocket or purse until needed.

Risks and Side Effects

NCCAM notes that there have been no reported side effects from users wearing magnets of any strength. However, people who use an electronic medical device such as a pacemaker or diabetic insulin pump should not use healing magnets because the magnet might interfere with how the device operates.

Research

The jury is still out on the effectiveness of healing magnets. For example, a 2003 study by the New York Medical College's Department of Neurology found that magnetic shoe insoles offered some pain relief to those who suffer from diabetic neuropathy. Alternately, research published in "The Journal of the American Medical Association" in 2003 found that magnetic insoles provide no greater pain relief than insoles without magnets.
Interest in healing magnets continues to grow. The National College of Natural Medicine began a study in September 2006 to examine the effectiveness of different strengths of magnets when used to treat carpal tunnel syndrome in a small population of sufferers. The study's results will inform the possibility of performing a large-scale trial. The study concluded in August 2009, and results are pending as of May 2010.