The magnet's a handy little device. You can use it to fish a dropped screw out of the heating duct or hang children's art on the refrigerator door. A growing number of people also believe you can imbed them in mattresses and pillows, stick them on aching fingers, tuck them into your socks or strap them around your waist, all in the name of pain relief.
For years, doctors have laughed at the notion. They say there's no mechanism by which magnets can influence pain in the body. And many of the magnets used for such purposes aren't strong enough to exert any force under the skin or even get through it.Now two recent studies have shown that there may be something to the claims, after all.
The January American Journal of Pain Management reported that that small magnets could reduce severe pain caused by the nerve damage that accompanies diabetes.
In the study, a professor at the New York Medical College and his researchers placed a pad with special, low-intensity magnets on one foot of patients and a placebo pad on the other. It was a double-blind trial because neither patient nor doctor knew which pad was which. The pads were worn continually for a month, then switched. Twice a day, the patients rated their pain levels, using a five-point scale.
After four months, nine of the 10 patients suffering the nerve damage reported a great decrease in pain in the foot with the magnetic pads. Three of the nine with other problems said they were improving, as well.
While the researchers concede it's a very small study and needs further research, it contradicts others that failed to document any proven effect from wearing magnets, a remedy that has been used in some cultures for centuries. Hippocrates reportedly used magnetic rock.
Yet another study, conducted last year by researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine, used small magnets similar to refrigerator magnets in their power. They reportedly reduced pain in 76 percent of post-polio patients, while only 19 percent of those using a placebo magnet reported getting relief. It too was a double-blind study, but it was also a small one, using only 50 patients.
While some physicians who formerly pooh-poohed the idea are reporting they're willing to give magnets a second look, they all agree that none of the studies so far have been big enough to avoid findings that could be a statistical anomaly. They want to see more research done.
But Callie Norman doesn't need proof. She says she's seen their power. The woman, who has a long history of headaches, said that her magnetized headband provides the kind of relief she never got from pain medications or other recommended therapies.
Penny Lane, who promotes a line of magnets produced by HoMedics, is also a believer.
Recently, she said, she loaned a magnet to a friend who had a swollen elbow that had been hurting for weeks. The woman reported that "my elbow felt really warm and then a few minutes later, there is no pain. I can't believe this."
Lane herself placed magnets on her instep and "it stopped my pain in minutes. I would never have believed it if I didn't use it myself!" she said. "My pain was constant and stopped in minutes. It has come back three times in 19 months." Every time it returns, she puts a magnet on and "it is gone!"
Part of the confusion about the efficacy of magnets may come because no one's sure how they work. A search through the home Web pages of a number of companies that produce magnets for "stress" or "pain" relief showed that each one has a different theory on how they work.
For instance, one claims that a magnet, when applied to the skin, "energizes and oxygenates the blood, especially the white corpuscles." The charged ion particles in the blood move, creating heat and thus relief, it says.
Another claims that it changes the polarity of pain-causing agents, thus reducing their sting.
And dozens of companies are producing the magnets, which are readily available at department stores and drugstores. They're being touted for stress reduction, arthritis relief and more. They're said to reduce muscle aches, joint strains, just plain tiredness.
Each boasts of unique qualities. HoMedics, for example, offers "Magnetic Wave Therapy" products that "incorporate an alternating wave-form bipolar magnet design, which is believed to offer greater cover and deeper penetration for enhanced healing and pain blockage."
Its 10-piece kit retails for about $59.99. Individual magnets range from $14.99 to $39.99.
Magnet City's "LifeForce Therapy Magnets" boast of a "ceramic V high-energy disk" paired with a "Neodymium" magnet for effective pain relief. They also offer cushion insoles, body wraps and more, costing from $8 apiece to $79 for a large combination set.
LifeForce has even come out with a magnetic pad designed as a bed for older, arthritic cats.
Carl Shuman doesn't care whether scientists can explain how magnets work. He's a golfer who has used magnets to "help me stay in the game." Magnets, in fact, are said to be popular among a number of golfers, including some pros, who say the magnets keep their joints from getting stiff.