Magnet Therapy, an Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide by William H. Philpott, MD, and Dwight K. Kalita, PhD, with Burton Goldberg, explains magnetic field therapy and gives examples of its therapeutic use for 35 health conditions. In the Japanese Medical Journal (December 4, 1976), Kyoichi Nakagawa, MD, proposed that the documented weakening of the Earths magnetic field is affecting the energy system of the human body. According to the authors of Magnet Therapy, Dr. Nakagawa believes that the weakening field is responsible for a magnetic field deficiency syndrome in humans. Stiffness in the shoulders, back, and neck; chest pains, headache and heaviness of head; dizziness; insomnia; habitual constipation; and general lassitude are signs of magnetic deficiency, according to Dr. Nakagawas 20 years of research. Long-term magnetism deficiency appears to decrease the bodys innate healing ability and make a person more vulnerable to infectious organisms and environmental toxins. Magnetic fields exhibit two polarities: positive in which electrons spin clockwise and negative in which electrons spin counterclockwise. In 1974, physicist Albert Roy Davis and W.C. Rawls published Magnetism and Its Effects of the Living System [sic]. They said that magnetic polarities have opposing effects on biological systems. Negative magnetic fields are said to normalize pH, oxygenate, resolve cellular edema, slow infection, reduce pain and inflammation, increase relaxation, slow brain electrical activity, and evoke anabolic hormone production. In contrast, positive magnetic fields have the opposite effect, promoting disease and increasing pain.
More research is still needed–the authors of this study suggest that more powerful magnets may show positive results. Other variables could be manipulated including the length of time the magnets are worn. These investigators limited the time the magnets were worn in order to reduce the possibility that the patient would discover whether the magnet was real or sham. Fortunately, no adverse side effects have ever been reported with magnets. So, as the industry flourishes, it is only patients pocketbooks, not their health, that will be compromised. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000, Vol. 283, No. 10, pp. 1322-1325)
Magnet therapy has been around for centuries in China, India, Egypt, and Greece. In more recent years it has spread west to some European countries, but in North America it is still regarded as alternative medicine (and is one of the therapies being studied by the National Institutes of Health). There is extensive foreign literature on magnet therapy for pain relief and while the quality of the research varies widely, some studies look good. There have been only a few published studies in the United States. One from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston showed that magnets were more than twice as effective as placebos in treating post-polio, muscular, and arthritic-like pain. Another study from New York Medical College showed good results using magnetic shoe inserts to treat diabetic neuropathy (foot pain some diabetics suffer). Although some US, doctors believe there may be something valid in the use of magnets, many remain legitimately skeptical. American physicians generally want a good, solid base of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trials clearly demonstrating effectiveness and safety before recommending a therapy to their patients. Even if risks are not a concern (which seems to be true for magnets) the expense can be significant, and even more important, proven treatments may be passed over for an ungrounded hope. There are many traditional medical therapies that are well accepted by the American medical establishment and yet are not fully understood. Still, it is always nice to have a hunch how a therapy works. Theories abound for magnet therapy, but so far any possible mechanism remains to be proved. There is no shortage of anecdotal claims of success. Anecdotal claims do not constitute conclusive scientific proof, but the absence of side effects or prohibitive cost, lead many people with chronic pain to give it a try.
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