Magnet "Therapy"?

I

imp

Senior Member
What do you folks here think of the trinkets I've seen for sale, like bracelets, which are made of a bunch of small permanent magnets, touted as having therapeutic value for arthritis, and other illness? They are definitely not inexpensive! imp
 

Also items like bracelets made of copper. I've known a few people who wear such things.

I think they're placebos and don't cure anything or they'd be prescribed by doctors....and they aren't.

If the person who wears them believe they help, fine. I never express my opinion around them.
 
imp said:
What do you folks here think of the trinkets I've seen for sale, like bracelets, which are made of a bunch of small permanent magnets, touted as having therapeutic value for arthritis, and other illness? They are definitely not inexpensive! imp
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That's the whole idea, Imp. The magnets are designed to attract money to the seller's wallet. The scientific tests have been done.
No physical benefit beyond the placebo effect for true believers. Kind of like the Rhino horns from another thread.
 

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Under, I appreciate your thoughts on this. I have, apparently, though not diagnosed as such, arthritis in my fingers, and maybe a bit in my feet. I've observed folks having far more grotesquely deformed hands than mine, wearing magnet therapy stuff. Normally, I would simply "write them off". But now, it's hitting close to home.

Recent study seems to implicate the magnetic field associated with cell phones in a possible increase of brain cancer rates. Such studies I do not particularly accept. I ignored for a long time, any such inferences related to "Field illness", but now, it's striking close to home.

As an Engineer, I must try to equate the physiological affects upon human living tissues, to the physical affects produced by magnetic fields. The blood has copious amounts of iron in it. Iron responds readily to magnetic fields. But, so what? Is iron in some way responsible for my finger joint problems?


As illogical as it sounds, I am really beginning to wonder. imp
 
imp said:
Under, I appreciate your thoughts on this. I have, apparently, though not diagnosed as such, arthritis in my fingers, and maybe a bit in my feet. I've observed folks having far more grotesquely deformed hands than mine, wearing magnet therapy stuff. Normally, I would simply "write them off". But now, it's hitting close to home.

Recent study seems to implicate the magnetic field associated with cell phones in a possible increase of brain cancer rates. Such studies I do not particularly accept. I ignored for a long time, any such inferences related to "Field illness", but now, it's striking close to home.

As an Engineer, I must try to equate the physiological affects upon human living tissues, to the physical affects produced by magnetic fields. The blood has copious amounts of iron in it. Iron responds readily to magnetic fields. But, so what? Is iron in some way responsible for my finger joint problems?


As illogical as it sounds, I am really beginning to wonder. imp
Click to expand...

The idea of "iron" in the blood is the "carrot" in this. From what I've read, its a fluid type of iron, and apparently is not affected by magnetism. I am truly sorry for your pain, Imp. Obviously its severe enough to draw you in to things like this. I would hate to see you spend money needlessly, but If it works for you, who cares if its just the placebo effect? I'll bow out now. Just trying to be a friend.
 
imp said:
Under, I appreciate your thoughts on this. I have, apparently, though not diagnosed as such, arthritis in my fingers, and maybe a bit in my feet. I've observed folks having far more grotesquely deformed hands than mine, wearing magnet therapy stuff. Normally, I would simply "write them off". But now, it's hitting close to home.

Recent study seems to implicate the magnetic field associated with cell phones in a possible increase of brain cancer rates. Such studies I do not particularly accept. I ignored for a long time, any such inferences related to "Field illness", but now, it's striking close to home.

As an Engineer, I must try to equate the physiological affects upon human living tissues, to the physical affects produced by magnetic fields. The blood has copious amounts of iron in it. Iron responds readily to magnetic fields. But, so what? Is iron in some way responsible for my finger joint problems?


As illogical as it sounds, I am really beginning to wonder. imp
Click to expand...

Good point Imp. When I was first diagnosed with OA I asked my rheumatologist about magnets and she said she didn't belive it would help so I let it go. Last year I developed a sudden painful swelling swelling in my ring finger of my left hand. I wore a bandage on it for months and then started taking PABA (parabenzoic amino acid) in Jan. The swelling and pain subsided in 48 hours and my finger shich was almost becoming disfigured with this painful arthritc nodule is back to normal.

Try whatever appeals and makes sense to you and stick with whatever works.
 
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Underock1 said:
The idea of "iron" in the blood is the "carrot" in this. From what I've read, its a fluid type of iron, and apparently is not affected by magnetism. I am truly sorry for your pain, Imp. Obviously its severe enough to draw you in to things like this. I would hate to see you spend money needlessly, but If it works for you, who cares if its just the placebo effect? I'll bow out now. Just trying to be a friend.
Click to expand...

Well....here's how I view it. Iron is a chemical Element, thus it consists of nothing else but iron atoms, ignoring impurities. So, when iron combines with some other element, such as oxygen (which forms rust), does that chemically-combined iron no longer exhibit magnetic qualities? I'm not dead sure, just suspect that it does.

Rest assured, I will not place any belief in the possibility of magnets helping my creaky old joints! Just wanted to learn what others think. imp
 
Being an arthritis sufferer, like my mother before me, I've looked into a lot of stuff like that and have never seen any reason to believe it works. One thing I did try for arthritis pain is acupuncture, and I get quite a bit of temporary relief from it. Wish I could afford it more often.

Even if the magnet did affect the iron in blood, how would that help the arthritis, which is a bone and joint thing?
 
Butterfly, isn't it ironic? Don't get me wrong - I'm glad you found some relief with acupuncture, but do you know what the theory of that modality is?

It's manipulation of chi, the invisible unable-to-be-proven-to-exist-by-science substance that supposedly flows in our bodies.
 

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