There’s no question that some magnets have powerful effects in the body – like the strong, “pulsed” magnets used in diagnostic scanners or those used to treat depression by changing electrical currents in the brain or others used to heal bones.
But the evidence is questionable on small, “static” magnets – the kind used to attach things to the refrigerator or, by the aching and hopeful, to reduce pain. These probably don’t do much because, unlike the pulsed magnets, they produce no electrical fields, said James D. Livingston [cq], a senior lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of “Driving Force: The Natural Magic of Magnets.”
“I’m not willing to say that it’s totally impossible that something might happen,” Livingston added. “But most of the claims for therapeutic magnets are probably due to the placebo effect” or other factors. Golfers who wear back supports with magnets may feel less pain, but the wraps also keep the back warmer and provide support, he said.
In 1997, a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 50 patients at Baylor College of Medicine, showed that static magnets significantly reduced post-polio pain.
But for heel pain, podiatric researchers in New York reported in 1997 that a magnetic foil placed in the insole was no better than a plain insole. Mayo Clinic researchers came to a similar conclusion in 2003, after studying real and sham magnets for heel pain.
Real magnets also fared no better than shams in a study of people with low back pain by Arizona researchers in 2000. But British researchers reported in late 2004 that osteoarthritis pain in the hip and knee decreased when people wore magnetic bracelets.
So? “Of all the things you can spend your money on, this is probably one of the less dangerous,” said Dr. Brent A. Bauer [cq], director of the Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.