Is Magnet Therapy A Treatment?

For a long time in history, people had been using magnets to relieve symptoms of certain illnesses. The system is simply to apply magnetic fields to the affected body parts to produce its therapeutic effects.

The treatment had been recommended for relief of joint and muscle pains, inflammation and stiffness. It had also been shown to help speed up healing and relief of sinus pains.
People also chose magnetic therapy as an alternative form of treatment for arthritis and sports injuries.

From testimonials of former patients, it even improves the quality of sleep. It also has one obvious benefit. Magnet therapy is effective minus the side effects associated with pharmaceutical drugs.

Magnet strength

To be therapeutically effective, a magnet therapy product must have a strong enough magnetic field to penetrate much deeper than the injured area.

Manufacturers of magnets provide gauss ratings of their products. The gauss rating is the maximum amount of magnetic energy that a magnet can hold at its core.

Thicker magnets with a large diameter produce a stronger, deeper penetrating magnetic field than a smaller and thinner magnet with the same gauss rating. The overall strength (and effectiveness) of a magnet is determined by its gauss rating, its thickness, diameter and spacing.

Past and present therapy

Various old cultures have been known to have used magnets for pain relief and other symptoms. Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and the Chinese have been known to have used magnets for treatments of various illnesses.

In those times, however, the right sizes and weights of magnets that can produce noticeable effects are rare. At the end of the 20th century, smaller and stronger magnetic materials became available. This led to the development of modern-day magnetic therapy products.

How it works

First, the body produces small electromagnetic fields by the movement of charged particles called ions. Resulting from the movement of these ions, our physical and mental processes are controlled, and the electromagnetic balance of our bodies is maintained.

The imbalance is demonstrated in times when we are injured. The electromagnetic field is put out of balance and pain and swelling are the result.

When magnetic therapy is applied on the injured area, both the capillary walls surrounding the muscles and the connective tissues relax. This action increases the flow of blood.

More oxygen and nutrients are then carried over to the affected area that results in the restoration of the normal ion concentration. This, in turn, relieves the pain and the swelling, and at the same time, promotes faster healing.

Safety

The World Health Organization itself had deemed that magnet therapy is safe. In addition, it had been determined that the therapy has no known risks. Also, there were no traces of side effects in all the magnet therapy treatments that were tested.

The following conditions are found to react favorably to magnet therapy treatments. There were noted reductions of pain and other discomforts in cases of arthritis, post-operations headaches (migraine) and pre-operations insomnia.

It was also found to provide pain relief in sports-related foot injuries, fibromyalgia and relief in sinus problems.

Precautions

As usual, medical experts strictly prohibits the use of magnet therapy on people who are pregnant, wearing pacemakers, defibrillator, insulin pump or some other electronic medical device.