Magnet Therapy Has No Proved Benefits, British Medical Journal
Main Category: Complementary Medicine / Alternative MedicineArticle Date: 07 Jan 2006 - 6:00 PDT
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Patients should be advised that magnet therapy has no proved benefits, and that any healing effect is likely to be small, say US researchers in this week's BMJ.
Magnetic devices that are claimed to be therapeutic include magnetic bracelets, insoles, wrist and knee bands, back and neck braces, and even pillows and mattresses. Annual sales are estimated at more than a billion dollars globally.
But Professors Leonard Finegold and Bruce Flamm argue that many studies of magnet therapy are suspect because it is difficult to blind subjects to the presence of a magnet. They suggest that money spent on expensive and unproved magnet therapy might be better spent on evidence based medicine.
More importantly, self treatment with magnets may result in an underlying medical condition being left untreated, they warn.
Magnets are touted by successful athletes, allowed to be widely advertised, and sold without restrictions, so it is not surprising that lay people think that claims of therapeutic efficacy are reasonable, they write. However - even theoretically - magnet therapy seems unrealistic.
Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence. Patients should be advised that magnet therapy has no proved benefits. If they insist on using a magnetic device they could be advised to buy the cheapest - this will at least alleviate the pain in their wallet, the authors conclude.
Editorial: Magnet therapy BMJ volume 332, p 4
Emma Dickinson
edickinson@bmj.com
BMJ-British Medical Journal
www.bmj.com
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Visitor Opinions In Chronological Order (4)
Magnets may be useful!
posted by prof.dr. .j.m.keppel hesselink on 25 Jan 2006 at 2:20 pmIt is easy to judge in the way done, without going into details. There are many studies published in peer reviewed journals on the efficacy and safety of magnets, some with positive conclusions. Furthermore, the problem of blinding is not key for magnet therapy only. The authors should have read all the existing evidence and make a transparant judgement. Opinions against any form of compolementary medicine such as these are not helpful and clearly only based on authority.
Utter Bunk
posted by Dr. Dominic Kearney on 10 Nov 2006 at 9:25 amDear Prof.dr. .j.m.keppel hesselink (though I doubt that you truly are a Professor and Doctor!).
This article is not an opinion. It is merely pointing out fact that there is no hard evidence that any COMPLEMENTARY treatment works. Show us a placebo controlled double blind test that shows a positive result, then maybe someone will take this kind of therapy seriously.
Magnets
posted by jan keppel hesselink on 26 May 2007 at 6:24 amDue to the best blinded study in the field it seems you might be right and magnettherapy could be useless.:
Cepeda MS, Carr DB, Sarquis T, et al. Static magnetic therapy does not decrease pain or opioid requirements: a randomized double blind trial. Anesth Analg 2007;104:290–4.
However the following studies are positive, although the methodology is less stringent:
Alfano AP, Taylor AG, Foresman PA, et al. Static magnetic fields for treatment of fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med 2001;7(1):53-64.
Basford JR. A historical perspective of the popular use of electric and magnetic therapy. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2001;82:1261-1269.
Bown CS. Effects of magnets on chronic pelvic pain. Obstet Gynecol 2000;95(4 Suppl 1):S29.
Carter R, Aspy CB, Mold J. The effectiveness of magnet therapy for treatment of wrist pain attributed to carpal tunnel syndrome. J Fam Pract 2002;51(1):38-40.
Chandi DD, Groenendijk PM, Venema PL. Functional Extracorporeal magnetic stimulation as a treatment for female urinary incontinence: 'the chair.' Brit J Urol 2004;93(4):539-541.
Jacobson JI, Gorman R, Yamanashi WS, et al. Low-amplitude, extremely low frequency magnetic fields for the treatment of osteoarthritic knees: a double-blind clinical study. Altern Ther Health Med 2001;7(5):54-59.
Madersbacher H, Pilloni S. Efficacy of extracorporeal magnetic innervation therapy (EXMI) in comparison to standard therapy for stress, urge and mixed incontinence: a randomized prospective trial (unpublished abstract). International Continence Society, Florence, Italy, 2003.
Pinzur, MS, Michael S, Lio T, et al. A randomized prospective feasibility trial to assess the safety and efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic fields therapy (PEMF) in the treatment of stage I Charcot arthropathy of the midfoot in diabetic individuals [abstract]. Diabetes 2002;51(Suppl 2):A542.
Quittan M, Schuhfried O, Wiesinger GF, et al. [Clinical effectiveness of magnetic field therapy: a review of the literature]. Acta Med Austria 2000;27(3):61-68.
Segal NA, Toda Y, Huston J, et al. Two configurations of static magnetic fields for treating rheumatoid arthritis of the knee: a double-blind clinical trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2001;82(10):1453-1460.
Ünsal A, Saglam R, Cimentepe E. Extracorporeal magnetic stimulation for the treatment of stress and urge incontinence in women. Scandinav J Urol Nephrol 2003;37(5):424-428.
Weintraub MI, Wolfe GI, Barohn RA, et al. Static magnetic field therapy for symptomatic diabetic neuropathy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2003;84(5):736-746.
Wosko PM, Eisenberg DM, Simon LS. Double-blind placebo-controlled trial of static magnets for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee: results of a pilot study. Altern Ther Health Med 2004;10(2):36-43.
Yamanishi T, Sakakibara R, Uchiyama T, et al. Comparative study of the effects of magnetic versus electrical stimulation on inhibition of detrusor over-activity. Urology 2000;56:777-781.
Yokoyama T, Nishiguchi J, Watanabe T, et al. Comparative study of effects of extracorporeal magnetic innervation versus electrical stimulation for urinary incontinence after radical prostatectomy. Urology 2004;Feb, 63(2):264-267.
Magnets And Tarot Cards
posted by Linda Caruthers on 26 May 2007 at 1:04 pmI find my magnets work better when I combine them with Tarot card sessions. My Tarot Card Reader, a nice old lady, recommended this.
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