August 5, 2005 – Magnets reportedly have analgesic effect based on clinical trial analysis1, published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. After evaluating the results of 15 double-blind placebo-controlled trials, the author concludes that low-intensity electromagnetic fields are effective in relieving chronic pain.
The author identified 21 double-blind placebo-controlled trials on 1,200 subjects suffering from various types of pain (neuropathic, rheumatic, post-surgical, etc.). For the purposes of his analysis, he kept only 15 of them: 4 were discarded due to questionable methodology, and 2 because the power of the magnets used was too low (less than 0.04 tesla or 400 gauss). The results of 11 of the selected studies (73.3%) indicate that static magnets have a statistically significant analgesic effect.
Static magnets come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Composed of metal, they are worn like a piece of jewelry (bracelet, pendant, earrings) or, more discreetly, inside a sole. They are said to be “static” because they emit a low-intensity continuous electromagnetic field, which is generally less than 0.1 Tesla or 1000 Gauss.
According to data collected by the author, static magnets can have an analgesic effect from an intensity of 0.04 tesla (400 gauss). They must be worn for a minimum of 45 consecutive minutes before feeling the effects, it is specified in the study. Furthermore, it is not known how electromagnetic fields influence biological mechanisms.
Note that this clinical trial analysis received funding from the company Magnopulse, a manufacturer of static magnets.
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
1. Eccles NK. A critical review of randomized controlled trials of static magnets for pain relief.J Altern Complement Med. 2005 Jun; 11 (3): 495-509.