Bracelets can 'ease' arthritis pain

Main Category: Arthritis / Rheumatology
Article Date: 17 Dec 2004 - 20:00 PDT

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According to a new study, magnetic bracelets can ease pain and discomfort experienced by arthritis sufferers.

UK researchers, writing in the British Medical Journal, found a significant reduction in pain scores among 65 wearers with arthritis and claim the bracelets reduced the amount of painkillers sufferers need to take.

The study by Professor Edzard Ernst and colleagues from the Peninsular Medical School, Exeter and Plymouth, also suggested that the stronger the bracelet the greater the effect.

The researchers claim that the one-off cost of the bracelets, at £30 to £50, compares well with the cost of taking painkillers in the long term.

However, studies with dummy versions of the bracelets produced mixed results, suggesting that they might have a placebo effect.

The authors concluded: "We cannot be certain whether our data show a specific effect of magnets, a placebo effect, or both. Whatever the mechanism, the benefit from magnetic bracelets seems clinically useful."

http://www.hda-online.org.uk/html/about/phnews.asp?ItemID=7345574