Magnetism

• Magnetic Therapy: Confessions of a Quackbuster
  
  
• Magnet therapies 'have no effect'
  
  
• Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? James D. Livingston, Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, comment on the 1997 study at Baylor College of Medicine.
  
  
• Effect of Magnetic vs Sham-Magnetic Insoles on Plantar Heel Pain JAMA, Vol. 290, no. 11, 17 september 2003
  
  
• Magnetic Therapy, Stephen Barrett, M.D., Quackwatch.
  
  
• Magnetic Therapy Florence Cardinal, About.com.
  
  
• Magnet Therapy Skepdic.
  
  
• Why Bogus Therapies Often Seem to Work Barry L. Beyerstein, Ph.D., Quackwatch.
  
  
• Magnetic water treatment and related pseudoscience. Junk science in the marketplace, Mag dot Con.
  
  
• Biomagnetic Pseudoscience and Nonsense Claims Abstract of "Magnetotherapy, the Latest Magic Touch" presented at the Ninth European Skeptics Conference, in La Coruna, Spain, September 4-7, 1997, Miguel A. Sabadell.
  
  
• Various critical papers on magnetism.
  
  
• Osteopris cured by magnetism?
  
  MLM who sell magnets [like Energetix] claim that osteoporosis is caused by the absence of the Earth's magnetic field. They claim that space agencies use magnetotherapy to help their astronauts recover.
  
  This is absolutely false. Osteoporosis occurs during space flight because of weightlessness. There is no more stress on the weight-bearing bones of the body when in orbit, and so calcium tends to be absorbed in the bloodstream. The same thing happens on Earth to patients who are in bed for long periods of time, and to people who have to keep one leg suspended or non-weightbearing due to disease or fractures.
  
  The "cure" for this problem seems to be to provide exercises that will periodically stress these bones, such as running on a treadmill or doing squatting exercises. Some investigators have tried electrical stimulation on legs to promote bone growth, but it has not worked so far.
  
  Biomagnetic Pseudoscience and Nonsense Claims Abstract of "Magnetotherapy, the Latest Magic Touch" presented at the Ninth European Skeptics Conference, in La Coruna, Spain, September 4-7, 1997, Miguel A. Sabadell. Read full article here.
  
  
• Support for your feet, but little support from science.
  
  
• Magnetic therapy has undergone very little scientific study
  
  
• Magnetic Water and Fuel Treatment: Myth, Magic, or Mainstream Science?
  
  
• Magentic Insoles Give No Pain Relief
  
  
• Randomised controlled trial of magnetic bracelets for relieving pain in osteoarthritis of the hip and knee
  Tim Harlow, general practitioner, Colin Greaves, research fellow, Adrian White, senior research fellow, Liz Brown, research assistant, Anna Hart, statistician, Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine.
  
  
• Patients who wore standard magnetic bracelets reported reduced pain from osteoarthritis of the hip or knee compared with patients wearing placebo bracelets. Harlow T, Greaves C, White A, et al. Randomised controlled trial of magnetic bracelets for relieving pain in osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. BMJ 2004;329:1450–4.
  
  Commentary by Heather L McDonald, RN, MSc, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  
  The study by Harlow et al contributes to the literature on use of magnets for chronic pain but fails to provide conclusive evidence about their effectiveness. Because of the widespread use of magnets, nurses need to be aware of these findings.
  
  Despite using an innovative study design that used "weak" magnets to provide an undetectable placebo, the study by Harlow et al failed to fully blind study participants and failed to show an effect of undisputable importance. In terms of blinding, 54% of patients in the standard magnet group and 47% of patients in the placebo magnet group correctly guessed their magnet type. However, it is not known whether their "correct" guesses went beyond what would be expected by chance. Successful blinding has been difficult to achieve in studies involving magnets because of the easily detectable magnetic force. In this study, the use of weak magnets failed largely because of a manufacturing error, which resulted in wide variability in the strength of weak magnets, with some having field strengths in the same range as standard magnets. Thus the usefulness of this blinding technique is not known.
  
  With respect to the estimates of effect for pain reduction and improvement in functioning, the lower boundaries of the confidence intervals (0.09 and 1.0, respectively) represent small differences between groups and indicate that the trial is non-definitive. In addition, this trial involved a sample of predominantly white people with fairly severe osteoarthritis (WOMAC A score 8) who also took painkillers 5–7 days per week. Larger studies, involving more rigour in magnet manufacturing and conducted on individuals from various ethnic backgrounds, are needed to overcome these weaknesses.
  
  The lack of evidence on magnet effectiveness dictates that nurses should neither recommend nor discourage their use but rather should provide education to clients. In one study of 146 patients with arthritis, almost 30% used copper or magnetic bracelets.1 Although magnets are usually promoted as being safe and inexpensive, several contradictions to use have been described, including pregnancy (because of the unknown effect on foetuses) and patients with cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators, or insulin pumps (because these devices are magnetically controlled).2 Additionally, magnets sold to consumers have variable composition, strength, and prices. Nurses have an important role in promoting health literacy about the use of magnets for chronic pain.
  
  REFERENCES
  Rao JK, Mihaliak K, Kroenke K, et al. Use of complementary therapies for arthritis among patients of rheumatologists. Ann Intern Med 1999;131:409–16.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  Ratterman R, Secrest J, Norwood B, et al. Magnet therapy: what’s the attraction? J Am Acad Nurse Pract 2002;14:347–53.[CrossRef][Medline]
  
  
• Questions and Answers About Using Magnets To Treat Pain The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is the Federal Government's lead agency for scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
  
  
• Magnétisme et magnétothérapie, une pseudo-médecine attractive. Charlatans Info (FRENCH)
  
  
• Magnétothérapie. Aimants fous (FRENCH)
  
  
• Magneetzolen helpen niet tegen pijn (DUTCH)
  
  
• Gemagnetiseerd water en pi-water: nog meer magie. (DUTCH)
  
  
• Aardstralen, een aanslag op je portemonee (DUTCH)
  
  
• Wonderen der techniek - Elektrische en magnetische gezondheid Roland Glaser, emeritus hoogleraar biofysica. (DUTCH)
  
  
• Magneettherapie blijkt kwakzalverij (DUTCH)

• Placebo: Het pilletje om eigen bestwil (DUTCH)
  
  
• Hoe kwakzalverij wordt verkocht William T. Jarvis, Ph.D. - Stephen Barrett, M.D.(DUTCH)
  
  
• Meer manieren van kwakzalvers om u om de tuin te leiden. Victor Herbert M.D.,V.D., Stephen Barrett, M.D. (DUTCH)
  
  
• Magneten maken slimmer (DUTCH)
  
  
• Elektrische en magnetische gezondheid (DUTCH)
  
  
• Magneten verbeteren gezondheid niet (Dutch)