Magnetic Therapy, Does It Actually Work?

Magnetic therapy has been around for a long time and is now perceived as one of the more established and credible alternative therapies that are on the market today offering natural pain relief.

But does magnetic therapy actually work? Let's consider the arguments.

On the one hand in the UK several local health authorities have actually given official approval magnetic leg wraps in the treatment of leg ulcers. This based upon independent research which suggested that in 60% of cases the patient actually received a tangible health benefit when wearing a magnetic therapy product.

But how exactly does magnetic therapy work? The generally held view is that magnets actually improve circulation by attracting the iron in blood. Consequently this increases the oxygen supply in the affected muscle and tissue which in turn aids the healing process.

Many people believe that magnets actually reduce the negative energy in the body while others firmly believe that magnets encourage healthy tissue to generate tiny electrical currents which provides a stimulus to the body and thereby aids the healing process.

As a result of these views today millions of people around the world use magnetic therapy to treat joint pains, sports injuries, backache, muscle soreness and many other physical ailments with much anecdotal evidence regarding the success of the treatment.

And magnetic therapy is not just confined to humans, animals with the same physical problems are now also apparently benefitting from magnets, in particular cats, dogs and horses. Many owners will swear by the results achieved from Magnetic therapy.

However there is a counter argument.

The biggest single argument used against magnetic therapy is that for any other drug to come to the market today there would be stringent and detailed tests to ascertain the effectiveness and no tests with this level of rigour ever seemed to have been applied to magnetic therapy.

Many traditionalists argue that patients merely benefit from the placebo effect. That is, if you think you will benefit then you will probably will and so magnetic therapy becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The assumption that magnets actually improve blood circulation can also be challenged at several levels. For example if there was such a change in the blood flow on a particular muscle, surely the skin would become very red underneath the magnet?

In conclusion, there is little scientific evidence to justify the claims made by those who use or market magnetic therapy. But if you honestly feel that there is a benefit from this therapy then you should probably persist with it as magnetic therapy is inexpensive and there are absolutely no recorded instances of magnets ever doing any harm.