Magnet therapy#Purported mechanisms of action

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Magnet therapy involves applying the weak magnetic field of permanent magnets to the body, for purported health benefits. Different effects are assigned to different orientations of the magnet.{{cite book |author1=Rawls, Walter C. |author2=Davis, Albert Belisle |title=Magnetism and Its Effects on the Living System |publisher=Acres U.S.A |year=1996 |isbn=0-911311-14-9 }}

Products include magnetic bracelets and jewelry; magnetic straps for wrists, ankles, knees, and back; shoe insoles; mattresses; magnetic blankets (blankets with magnets woven into the material); magnetic creams; magnetic supplements; plasters/patches and water that has been "magnetized". These products generally use neodymium and ferrite magnets{{cite web |last=Marchio |first=Cathy |date=Apr 16, 2024 |title=Neodymium Magnets in Electroacoustic Devices |url=https://www.stanfordmagnets.com/neodymium-magnets-in-electroacoustic-devices.html |website=Stanford Magnets |access-date=Oct 15, 2024}} and the application is usually performed by the patient.

It is similar to the alternative medicine practice of electromagnetic therapy, which uses the weak electric or magnetic fields as well, but generated by electrically powered devices.

Perhaps the most common suggested mechanism is that magnets might improve blood flow in underlying tissues. The field surrounding magnet therapy devices is far too weak and falls off with distance far too quickly to appreciably affect hemoglobin, other blood components, muscle tissue, bones, blood vessels, or organs. A 1991 study on humans of static field strengths up to 1 T found no effect on local blood flow.{{cite journal | title=Do strong static magnetic fields in NMR tomography modify tissue perfusion?| journal=Nuklearmedizin | year=1991 | author=Stick C|author2=Hinkelmann K |author3=Eggert P |author4=Wendhausen H |volume=154|issue= 3| pages=326–31| doi=10.1055/s-2008-1033141 | pmid= 1849304| s2cid=260289461 }}{{cite book | last = Polk | first = Charles |author2=Elliot Postow | title = Handbook of Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields | publisher = CRC Press | year = 1996 | pages = 161 | isbn = 0-8493-0641-8 }} Tissue oxygenation is similarly unaffected. Some practitioners claim that the magnets can restore the body's hypothetical "electromagnetic energy balance", but no such balance is medically recognized. Even in the magnetic fields used in magnetic resonance imaging, which are many times stronger, none of the claimed effects are observed. If the body were meaningfully affected by the weak magnets used in magnet therapy, MRI would be impractical.{{Cite web |last=Radiology (ACR) |first=Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and American College of |title=MRI Safety |url=https://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info/safety-mr |access-date=2022-07-22 |website=Radiologyinfo.org |language=en}}{{cite web|title=Is Blood Magnetic|date=12 December 2010|url=http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/content/latest-questions/question/2848/|publisher=The Naked Scientist|access-date=13 December 2012}}{{cite web|title=Does MRI attract the iron in your blood?|url=http://www.revisemri.com/blog/2006/mri-blood-iron-attraction/|work=Revising MRI|access-date=13 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117224308/http://www.revisemri.com/blog/2006/mri-blood-iron-attraction/|archive-date=17 November 2012|url-status=dead}}

Several studies have been conducted in recent years to investigate what role, if any, static magnetic fields may play in health and healing. Unbiased studies of magnetic therapy are problematic, since magnetisation can be easily detected, for instance, by the attraction forces on ferrous (iron-containing) objects; because of this, effective blinding of studies (where neither patients nor assessors know who is receiving treatment versus placebo) is difficult. Incomplete or insufficient blinding tends to exaggerate treatment effects, particularly where any such effects are small.{{cite journal | title=The revised CONSORT statement for reporting randomized trials: explanation and elaboration | journal=Annals of Internal Medicine | date=2001-04-17 |vauthors=Altman DG, Schulz KF, Moher D, Egger M, Davidoff F, Elbourne D, Gøtzsche PC, Lang T, ((CONSORT GROUP (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials))) |author-link7=PC Gøtzsche | volume=134 | issue=8 |pages=663–694 | pmid=11304107 | doi=10.7326/0003-4819-134-8-200104170-00012| s2cid=12834600 }} Health claims regarding longevity and cancer treatment are implausible and unsupported by any research. More mundane health claims, most commonly about anecdotal pain relief, also lack any credible proposed mechanism and clinical research is not promising.{{cite journal|title=Static magnets for reducing pain|journal=Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies|date=March 2008|first=Max H.|last=Pittler|volume=13|issue=1|pages=5–6 |doi=10.1211/fact.13.1.0003 }}{{Cite journal |last1=Arabloo |first1=Jalal |last2=Hamouzadeh |first2=Pejman |last3=Eftekharizadeh |first3=Fereshteh |last4=Mobinizadeh |first4=Mohammadreza |last5=Olyaeemanesh |first5=Alireza |last6=Nejati |first6=Mina |last7=Doaee |first7=Shila |date=2017 |title=Health technology assessment of magnet therapy for relieving pain |journal=Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran |volume=31 |pages=184–188 |doi=10.18869/mjiri.31.31 |issn=1016-1430 |pmc=5804424 |pmid=29445660}}

The American Cancer Society states that "available scientific evidence does not support these claims".{{cite book|editor1-last=Russell|editor1-first=Jill|editor2-last=Rovere|editor2-first=Amy|title=American Cancer Society Complete Guide to Complementary & Alternative Cancer Therapies|date=2009|publisher=American Cancer Society|location=Atlanta, Ga.|isbn=978-0944235713|edition=2nd|chapter=Magnetic therapy|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/americancancerso0000unse}} See archived online version {{cite web|url=http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/magnetic-therapy|title=Magnetic Therapy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112145357/http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/magnetic-therapy|archive-date=12 November 2012|date=1 November 2008}} Electromagnetic therapy is a related field. See chapter in ACS book just referenced, and [https://web.archive.org/web/20121210093642/http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/ManualHealingandPhysicalTouch/electromagnetic-therapy archived ACS webpage] on that. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, studies of magnetic jewelry have not shown demonstrable effects on pain, nerve function, cell growth or blood flow.{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2010-10-05/energy-enhancing-jewelry-improves-big-league-stars-if-only-in-their-heads |title=Energy Bracelets Turn Athletes to Stars, If Only in Their Heads |last1=Levinson |first1=Mason |last2=Randall |first2=Tom |date=4 October 2010 |newspaper=bloomberg.com |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=9 September 2015}}

A 2008 systematic review of magnet therapy for all indications found insufficient evidence to determine whether magnet therapy is effective for pain relief, as did 2012 reviews focused on osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.{{cite journal | last1 = GJ1 | first1 = Macfarlane | display-authors = etal | date = Dec 2012 | title = A systematic review of evidence for the effectiveness of practitioner-based complementary and alternative therapies in the management of rheumatic diseases: osteoarthritis | journal = Rheumatology (Oxford) | volume = 51 | issue = 12| pages = 2224–33 | pmid = 22923762 | doi = 10.1093/rheumatology/kes200 | doi-access = free }}{{Cite journal |last1=Macfarlane |first1=Gary J. |last2=Paudyal |first2=Priya |last3=Doherty |first3=Michael |last4=Ernst |first4=Edzard |last5=Lewith |first5=George |last6=MacPherson |first6=Hugh |last7=Sim |first7=Julius |last8=Jones |first8=Gareth T. |last9=on behalf of the Arthritis Research UK Working Group on Complementary and Alternative Therapies for the Management of the Rheumatic Diseases |date=2012-09-01 |title=A systematic review of evidence for the effectiveness of practitioner-based complementary and alternative therapies in the management of rheumatic diseases: rheumatoid arthritis |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kes133 |journal=Rheumatology |volume=51 |issue=9 |pages=1707–1713 |doi=10.1093/rheumatology/kes133 |pmid=22661556 |issn=1462-0324|url-access=subscription }} These reviews found that the data was either inconclusive or did not support a significant effect of magnet therapy. They also raised concerns about allocation concealment, small sample sizes, inadequate blinding, and heterogeneity of results, some of which may have biased results.

These devices are generally considered safe in themselves, though there can be significant financial and opportunity costs to magnet therapy, especially when treatment or diagnosis are avoided or delayed. Use is not recommended with pacemakers, insulin pumps, and other devices that may be negatively affected by magnetic fields.

The worldwide magnet therapy industry totals sales of over a billion dollars per year,{{cite news | first=Bruce L. | last=Flamm | title=Magnet Therapy: a billion-dollar boondoggle | date=July 2006 | publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry | url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/magnet_therapy_a_billion-dollar_boondoggle/ | work =Skeptical Inquirer | access-date = 2009-08-18 }}{{cite news | title=Magnet therapies 'have no effect' | date=2006-01-06 | url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4582282.stm | work =BBC | access-date = 2009-08-18 }} including $300 million per year in the United States alone.{{cite journal |vauthors=Finegold L, Flamm BL | title = Magnet therapy | journal = BMJ | volume = 332 | issue = 7532 | pages = 4 |date=January 2006 | pmid = 16399710 | pmc = 1325112 | doi = 10.1136/bmj.332.7532.4 }}

A 2002 U.S. National Science Foundation report on public attitudes and understanding of science noted that magnet therapy is "not at all scientific."{{cite book | author = National Science Board | author-link = National Science Foundation | title = Science and Engineering Indicators – 2002 | publisher = National Science Foundation | year = 2002 | location = Arlington, Virginia | pages = ch. 7 | url = https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm | isbn = 978-0-16-066579-0 | access-date = 2018-04-06 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160616181809/http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind02/c7/c7s5.htm | archive-date = 2016-06-16 | url-status = dead }} "Among all who had heard of [magnet therapy], 14 percent said it was very scientific and another 54 percent said it was sort of scientific. Only 25 percent of those surveyed answered correctly, that is, that it is not at all scientific." A number of vendors make unsupported claims about magnet therapy by using pseudoscientific and new-age language. Such claims are unsupported by the results of scientific and clinical studies.{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/si/show/magnetic_therapy_plausible_attraction/ |title=Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? |author=James D. Livingston |work=Skeptical Inquirer |access-date=2009-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091208192020/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/magnetic_therapy_plausible_attraction |archive-date=2009-12-08 |url-status=dead }}

Marketing of any therapy as effective treatment for any condition is heavily restricted by law in many jurisdictions unless all such claims are scientifically validated. In the United States, for example, U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations prohibit marketing any magnet therapy product using medical claims, as such claims are unfounded.{{cite web | title = Magnets | work = CDRH Consumer Information | publisher = Food and Drug Administration | date = 2000-03-01 | url = https://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/magnets.html | access-date = 2008-05-02 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080424053751/https://www.fda.gov/cdrh/consumer/magnets.html |archive-date = 2008-04-24}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• List of topics characterized as pseudoscience
• List of ineffective cancer treatments
• Electrical devices in alternative medicine
• Bioelectromagnetics
• Detoxification foot baths
• Franz Mesmer
• Hologram therapy
• Ionized bracelet
• Magnetic water treatment
• Power Balance
• Rife machine
• Quackery

}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990618a.html Magnetic Therapy: Can magnets alleviate pain?] by Cecil Adams — The Straight Dope
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20091208192020/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/magnetic_therapy_plausible_attraction Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction?] by James D. Livingston — Skeptical Inquirer
• [http://skepdic.com/magnetic.html Magnet therapy] in the Skeptic's Dictionary by Robert Todd Carroll
• [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/332/7532/4?ehom Magnet therapy] — editorial in the British Medical Journal
• [http://www.quackwatch.org/04ConsumerEducation/QA/magnet.html Magnet Therapy: A Skeptical View] by Stephen Barrett — Quackwatch

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{{Unproven and disproven cancer treatments}}

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Category:Magnetism

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