I have a close friend who is suffering from debilitating arthritis and who can not take any of the current meds for it because she is allergic, not even Celebrex. I have heard of people using megnetic therapies for this and other illnesses and am wondering what the scoop is on magnetic therapies. Anecdotes and links would be much much appreciated. Thanks all.
Magnets=Scam
Need a little more info than ‘MAGNETS=SCAM’. THNX
Try this.
You - not metal.
Magnets - Attracted to (some kinds) of metal.
You + Theraputic Magnets = You - Your Money
Subtract “you” from both sides leaves: Theraputic Magnets = -Your Money
Better?
Actually there were some compelling results recently to suggest that people with bipolar disorder experience a considerable improvement after an MRI scan, over and above the placebo effect experienced by a control group. Not arthritis, I realise, but it does indicate that magnetic fields are capable of interacting with our physiology in some manner.
Dog80 is right.
Magnets do not have any beneficial effects.
GO HERE to learn more, & check out the links on the page.
Most “magnet therapy” magnets are of the refridgerator-magnet variety. So do this: Get two refridgerator magnets—the flat, flexible kind. They’re generally rectangular. Put them magnet face-to-magnet face, i.e. put the parts that goes on the fridge together, and, holding each magnet by an opposite edge, pull them so that they slide against each other. If they slide smoothly, turn one 90º and try it again. After some experimentation to get it right, you’ll see that the magents slide against each other in a sort-of stoccato or poping movement. The magnets are made of strips of magnets that have their poles reversed, you have N-S then S-N then N-S etc., so that the magnetic fields cancel out and you don’t have refridgerator magnets affecting things that are sensitive to electro-magnetic fields.
You can do another experiment: Take a refridgerator magnet and stick it to something metal. Now put one piece of paper between the two. Now two pieces of paper. Repeat until the magnet no longer sticks. You’ll see that the magnetic filed does indeed die off quickly.
So imagine putting this on an arthritic joint. How is it going to affect the joint if the magnetic field only goes a tiny fraction of an inch deep?
Bob Park’s Voodoo Science discusses it at some length.
But let’s not forget that the magnetic fields created by an MRI machine are orders of magnitudes greater than those created by so-called “theraputic” magnets, which are typically no stronger than refridgerator magnetics. The magnetic fields of these magnets have no discernable effect deeper than a few millimeters into your skin. Try it yourself! Take a magnetic therapy bracelet, and see if it will hold on to a paperclip. Then see how many sheets of paper you can put between the magnet and the paperclip before the magnetic field is too weak to support the paperclip.
The common claim is that magets do something to the iron in your blood; increase or “energize” bloodflow, or some such nonsense. The reason that this is hooey (aside from the fact that the effective range of the magentic field is very small) is that the iron in your blood is not ferromagnetic. The iron atoms in hemoglobin are not arranged in in a crystaline structure, so they can’t get all their spins lined up the way iron in a chunk o’ iron or steel can.
(This is probably all redundant with Floater’s Quackwatch link, but I couldn’t help myself.)
My brother-in-law tried magnets with mixed results. He said he might have felt better, but people were nosy about the lump under his shirt. Then he went to get a beer, and he got stuck to the refrigerator. 
Oh, absolutely - I share the scepticism regarding magnetic bracelets and suchlike, I was just trying to point out that “we are not magnetic therefore magnets don’t work” is fallacious reasoning. The MRI results were found on scans with fields oscillating at or about the frequency of certain brain patterns, too, so they don’t necessarily indicate that static magnets would do anything.
I seem to remember reading something about experiments with exposing the brain to really powerful magnetic fields and this having a very significant effect, but that was not using little permanent magnets like you find in magnetic jewellery.
It should be noted that the magnetic field used in MRI is time-variant field. Time-variant magnetic fields can induce electric currents in nearby conductive material, such as brain tissue. Most likely the results of the MRI fields on bipolar patients are due to electric currents being induces in their brains, essentially a safer, milder, more precise, and less destructive form of electroshock therapy. Magnets sold for arthritis and such are only generating static magnetic fields, and can’t have the same effect, even if they were powerful enough to penetrate beyond the skin.
There are things that can be done to try to minimize arthritis damage to the body and stay as comfortable as possible, including eating a very healthy diet, staying active, keeping the joints mobile, maybe cider vinegar, maybe homeopathics, maybe chiropractic, and geez, why not maybe magnets? Maybe if she believed in it enough, it would have some placebo effect, and there’s nothing wrong with that. At worst, your friend would be out some money, and a bit disillusioned and disappointed. But she wouldn’t be harmed.
My husband uses Enbrel for his arthritis, and the side effect he’s suffering right now, which we think is caused by the Enbrel and not by another med he took before, is a total lack of sense of taste. He has lost 25 or 30 lbs because food has zero flavor and eating is a matter of perfunctory stopping the hunger pains. It’s miserable for him. Yes, his arthritis has slowed down its progress (he will not, or does not, attempt any other control method such as exercise or improved diet), but the cost is high.
Ok so what you all are saying is it’s a scam. Ok just thought I’d ask.
My parents live next to a couple that not only firmly believe that magnets can cure everything from a hangnail to cancer, but they also just happen to try to make a living selling them.
Well, a few years ago, the husband got cancer. I forget what kind it was, but it was a kind that typically has a pretty good survival rate - when treated with modern medicine. Long story short, the magnets and herbal teas somehow failed to replace chemotherapy, and the husband died in horrible pain, totally unneccesarily, leaving a couple of kids behind.
Magnet therapy tends to piss me off these days.
The second episode in the first season of Penn & Teller’s Bullshit! is devoted to “Alternative medcine,” and they go into the magnetic theraphy hoax. They even end up building a massive “magnet” prop out of rain gutter parts, then took it to a mall, waved it at people, and recorded their “Wow, I feel so much better” responses. 
You can buy the first season of P&TB! in most video stores right now. Check it out.
I’ve heard alot about magnetic therapy lately, though I haven’t tried it myself. I suppose it’s one of those new age energy fads.
I’ve actually heard that some countries endorse magnetic therapy as a legtimate form of treatment for certain diseases.
I don’t know how strcit medical laws are in Germany of France, but perhaps there is some small benefit from them. Though we odn’t have enough iron in our bodies to be noticeably affected by magnetic fields, all atoms and molecules have magnetic properties so such devices may affect us in subtle way.
However, a small little fridge magnetic obviously doesn’t have the power of a MRI scanner and some retailers probably take advantage of the public’s interests by selling bogus products. For example, check out this site:
[URL=]Link
We’re were doing physics homerwork the other night and a friend brought up the fact that he had bought a pair of those ‘immortality rings’ for his teacher as a joke. Personally I think exploring the site is worth it for the entertainment value alone.
I don’t know how well this guy’s products may work, but I seriously doubt they stop aging permanently. Have fun exploring. 
Right off the top, my problem with the stuff being sold for this is: The most prominent medical professional you could get to endorse this is Chi Chi Rodriguez?
The Skeptics Dictionary’s take on the matter.