Magnetic Therapy To Relieve Pain: Alternative Medicine

Magnetic therapy is becoming big business. The global sale of magnets for treatment is valued at over $5 billion yearly. In the US the market is approximately $500 million. Magnetic therapy involves the use of thin metal magnets positioned on or near the skin, alone or in groups. They can also be worn in the form of jewelry. It is thought that magnets can help reduce pain or cure diseases. Advocates of magnetic therapy claim that magnets can relieve pain caused by arthritis, headaches, migraine headaches, and stress. They can also heal broken bones, improve circulation, reverse degenerative diseases, and cure cancer. They also claim that placing magnets over areas of discomfort or ailment supports the body's therapeutic aptitude. Some state that magnetic fields increase blood flow, alter nerve impulses, increase the flow of oxygen to cells, decrease fatty deposits on artery walls, and realign thought patterns to improve emotional well-being. Magnetic therapy is a very popular form of therapy because inside our bodies there are a variety of electromagnetic fields that naturally occur. For instance, nervous system transmissions and related muscle contractions are associated with magnetic activity. The heart generates the largest magnetic field in the body. Several other activities in the body are associated with magnetic activity. At one time it was thought that abnormal magnetic fields in the body might result in certain disease states and that magnets could play a role in making these magnetic fields normal again. It was also once thought that magnets improve blood circulation because the magnets attract the iron in red blood cells. However this theory doesn't hold any weight as the iron in blood cells is not in a magnetic form. Magnets, in theory, could have an effect on other charged molecules in the blood and other parts of the body. There isn't enough information to know exactly how magnets might work in the body to treat disease or pain. Supporters of magnetic therapy proclaim that magnetic fields produced from the negative pole of the magnet have curing powers. Negative magnetic fields are thought to stimulate metabolism, increase the amount of oxygen available to cells, and create a less acidic environment within the body. Because many people who use magnets believe cancer cells cannot thrive when acid is low, they claim that the effects of negative magnetic fields can halt or reverse the spread of tumors by decreasing acidity. For the same reasons, they believe that negative magnetic fields speed the healing of cuts, broken bones, and infections, and that they counter the effects of toxic chemicals, addictive drugs, and other harmful substances.