Magnet Therapy Attracts The Gullible

Posting Date: 03/07/2000

The use of permanent magnets for the treatment of pain has grown into a $5 billion industry even though there is little evidence that this type of alternative therapy works.

I?m not a believer in magnetic therapy, and a new study that used real and sham magnets on 20 patients with chronic low back pain shows no beneficial effects, according to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

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Researchers at the Bio-Electric-Magnetics Institute in Reno, Nev., say the patients were divided into two groups, half of which had real bipolar magnets and half fake magnets applied for six hours per day, three days per week for one week. The groups were then alternated for another week of lower back treatment.

At the end of the trial, the participants felt no relief from pain and there were no differences in lower back problems noted between the two groups, according to scores on standard pain intensity tests.

There?s only been one small study where magnetic therapy was shown to be helpful. This was for a specific condition called diabetic polyneuropathy, where pain was reduced when patients wore magnetic foot pads for a total of 12 weeks.

I guess there could be cases where a strong magnetic field over a nerve could relieve pain or other symptoms, but I haven?t seen this proven in placebo-controlled, double-blind studies. If the therapy ever does show promise, I?ll be the first to report it to you.

However, most of the magnetic hype being aimed at consumers is sham, not science, and it?s really pathetic that a $5 billion industry has developed for a product where there?s barely a shred of evidence of health benefits.

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, March 8, 2000