Magnet therapy

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7532.4

BMJ 2006;332:4 (7 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7532.4

Editorial

Magnet therapy

Extraordinary claims, but no proved benefits

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Magnetic devices that are claimed to be therapeutic includemagnetic bracelets, insoles, wrist and knee bands, back andneck braces, and even pillows and mattresses. Their annual salesare estimated at $300m¹ (£171m; ${euro}$ 252m) in the United Statesand more than a billion dollars globally.² They have been advertisedto cure a vast array of ills, particularly pain. A Google searchfor the terms "magnetic + healing" omitting "MRI resonance"yielded well over 20 000 pages, most of which tout healing bymagnets. The reader is invited to insert "magnetic healing"into a web browser, and evaluate these spectacular claims.³

Many "controlled" experiments are suspect because it is difficultto blind subjects to the presence of a magnet. An example isa randomised trial of powerful magnetic bracelets for the reliefof hip and knee osteoarthritis, which reports a significantdecrease in pain because of the bracelets.⁴ The patients . . . [Full text of this article]

Leonard Finegold, professor

Department of Physics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19014, USA
(L@drexel.edu)

Bruce L Flamm, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynaecology

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Riverside, CA 92505, USA

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Rapid Responses:

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Magnet therapy: Non-clinical claims are also questionable: G James Rubin, et al.
bmj.com, 6 Jan 2006 [Full text]
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