Magnets have already made a mark in the history of health care. It provides various health benefits during the olden days up until now. Various types of magnets are being marketed worldwide to serve as a complementary or alternative treatment to health problems ranging from a simple back pain to severe ailments like cancer.
History
Over many centuries, magnets were used for a multitude of health purposes. Around the third century A.D., Greek physicians were said to have used magnetic rings to treat arthritis. Doctors in the Middle Ages used magnets to treat a variety of illnesses such as arthritis, gout and baldness. They were also used to retrieve arrowheads and pieces of iron from the body.
Theories/Speculation
Clinical studies of magnet therapy have shown mixed results in the treatment or elimination of pain. A team of U.S. researchers lead by Prof. Leonard Finegold of Drexel University concluded that instead of the magnets improving our health, magnets may cause risks among individuals who practice self-treatment, which leave their conditions untreated. Dr. Max Pittler of the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth said that the effects of magnet therapy were not compelling enough and the there is not enough evidence to prove that static magnets can relieve pain.
Tennessee study
A study by the University of Tennessee Health Services Center aimed to measure changes in pain relief and disability when patients receive active magnets for four weeks. The study was a double-blind pilot study with 32 patients. The results showed that static magnetic field therapy greatly improves disability and can possibly decrease pain when the magnets are worn continuously over four weeks for patients with chronic pelvic pain.
Columbia Study
A study by the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University said static magnetic fields can have a lot of therapeutic benefits in the treatment of pain and edema from musculoskeletal injuries and pathologies. Nine out of 10 diabetic peripheral patients had significant reduction in pain from magnetic therapy. The study concluded that static magnetic fields can have great therapeutic effects related to pain and peripheral blood circulation.
Misconceptions
Even though there are supported studies regarding the efficacy of static magnetic field therapy in pain therapy, it is still inconclusive due to some challenges that researchers are facing right now. It is possible that something other than the magnets may relieve a study participant's pain. It is also difficult to design a placebo magnet that participants cannot distinguish from the real magnet.
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