Magnet therapy

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Magnet therapy, or magnetic therapy, or magnotherapy is a form of alternative medicine claiming that certain medical disorders can be effectively treated by exposure to static magnetic fields.

Proponents of magnet therapy claim that subjecting certain parts of the body to doses of magnetic fields has a beneficial effect. This belief has led to the popularization of an industry involving the sale of magnetic-based products for "healing" purposes: magnetic bracelets and jewelry; magnetic straps for wrists, ankles, and the back; shoe insoles, mattresses, and magnetic blankets (blankets with magnets woven into the material); and even water that has been "magnetized".

Magnet therapy makes use of the static magnetic fields produced by permanent magnets; the related alternate medicine field of electromagnetic therapy involves the application of electromagnetic waves to the patient.

Contents 1 Efficacy 1.1 Legal regulations 2 Criticism 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Efficacy

Scientific tests of magnetic therapy for the treatment of wrist pain from carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic low back pain have concluded that there is no health benefit from magnetic fields in those cases.^[1][2] Blinding of any study into the efficacy of magnetic therapy is problematic as the participants in the study may easily ascertain whether they have been issued with a genuine magnet or a placebo dummy.^[3]

[edit] Legal regulations

A number of jurisdictions prohibit the marketing of magnetic therapy products with the claim that they offer any therapeutic effects. In the United States, for example, FDA regulations render it illegal to market a magnet therapy product that claims to treat any "significant" condition such as cancer, HIV, AIDS, asthma, arthritis, or rheumatism.^[4]

[edit] Criticism

Criticism from the scientific community views magnet therapy with disapproval since it is not explained within standard scientific protocol. Although there is a small amount of scientific evidence that appears to support its validity, ^[5] as a whole, magnet therapy is lacking scientific confirmation to be fully accepted in science.^[6] Carey explains in A Beginner’s Guide to Scientific Method, that true scientific principles are rigorously tested according to the methods of the scientific method; hence, by applying techniques from scientific investigation, apparent fallacies of magnetic therapy can be pointed out.

False anomalies are mysterious suggestions that attempt to explain an event, and they create ambiguity in that they omit factual information from their explanation.^[6] Advocates of magnet therapy claim that magnets can help decrease pain levels but they fail to explain exactly how this occurs. ^[7] For example, in double blind experiments patients frequently become aware they are wearing a magnetic bracelet; thus, the "controlled" experiment loses validity, and this information is often omitted in the experimental results.^[8]

Another method of forming an anomaly is to over-rely on anecdotal evidence.^[6] Supporters make false assertions such as magnets stimulate blood flow because blood is composed of charged ions, or that the magnetic field can decrease pain because it can affect pain receptors. ^[9] Science does not support such claims because they are not based on solid scientific principles such as controlled double blind causal studies.^[6] Because the fallacies used to explain magnetic therapy are not supported by science, there are numerous theories which attempt to invalidate its effectiveness.

Criticism of magnet therapy focuses on scientific facts about magnets, including that:^[10]

• The typical magnet used produces insufficient flux density to have a lasting effect on muscle tissue, bones, blood vessels, or organs.
• Researchers in high-energy physics laboratories can work for hours per day with their whole body immersed in magnetic fields far stronger than those from the bracelets, and there is no evidence they are more or less healthy than their peers.
• No magnet healing manufacturer has demonstrated scientifically that its products achieve what they claim, and most cannot agree on what exactly the magnetic fields do.
• Some manufacturers claim that the magnets help to circulate the blood by some interaction with the iron in hemoglobin, a major component of red blood cells. However in its ionised form, iron is not ferromagnetic and cannot be affected by magnets.^[11]
• Others claim that the magnets can restore the body's theorised electromagnetic energy balance. There are also claims that the south pole of a magnet acts differently on the body than the north pole.^{[citation needed]}
• Many of the websites that provide information and resources promoting the benefits of magnetic therapy belong to individuals and companies that profit from the sale of magnetic therapy products.
• Water is a diamagnetic material, and thus cannot be magnetized. In addition, attempts to sell "north pole" or "south pole" magnetized water to treat different conditions ignore the fact that magnetized ferromagnetic materials inevitably acquire both a north and a south pole; science yet to have found evidence for the existence of magnetic monopoles.^[12]

[edit] See also

• Alex Chiu
• Electrical quackery
• Franz Mesmer
• Pseudoscience
• Quackery

[edit] References

1. ^ 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: 38-40.
2. ^ Collacott EA, Zimmerman JT, White DW, Rindone JP. Bipolar permanent magnets for the treatment of chronic low back pain: a pilot study. JAMA 2000;283: 1322-5.
3. ^ Finegold, L. Flamm, B. (2006). "Magnet therapy". British Medical Journal 332: 4. 
4. ^ Magnets. CDRH Consumer Information. Food and Drug Administration (2000-03-01). Retrieved on 2007-02-02.
5. ^ http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/329/7480/1450
6. ^ ^{a b c d} A Beginner’s Guide to Scientific Method, Third Edition, Thompson-Wadsworth, 2004
7. ^ http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Magnetic_Therapy.asp
8. ^ http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/332/7532/4
9. ^ http://www.texas-medical.com/magnetics/mag-articles.htm
10. ^ Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? by James D. Livingston — a Skeptical Inquirer article
11. ^ http://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/safety/mri_safety.htm
12. ^ Brau, Charles A. (2004). Modern Problems in Classical Electrodynamics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514665-4. 

[edit] External links

• Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? by James D. Livingston — a Skeptical Inquirer article
• Magnet therapy in the Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll, Ph.D.
• Magnet therapy — an editorial in the British Medical Journal
• Magnet Therapy: A Skeptical View — article by Stephen Barrett, M.D.