Magnet Therapy

stephanie447
stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

I'm studying magnet therapy, not just for my personal benefit but because I think it might help people to do a little online course about it. Anyone here use magnets for pain relief or other conditions?

I'll give a brief heads up that they talk a lot about "positive" and "negative" in magnet therapy and sometimes equate these to the "poles" of a magnet (north vs. south). However, the best I can figure is that someone early on in magnet therapy got confused and mislabeled the poles. So in "biomagnetism," you'll hear "bio-north" (which is the south pole in magnet science) and "bio-south" (which is the north pole in magnet science).

Many manufacturers confuse all these terms so you never know what you are getting until you get the magnet and can test it yourself.

Some say the positive side may be potentially harmful, but considering all the confusion I wonder if that's really true.

There are many ways to use them...you can apply them directly to the area of pain, for starters.

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Comments

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    My mum was a big fan of magnets for arthritis. She used the agricultural kind for cows' stomachs and would sleep with one under her pillow.

    Thanks for reminding me. I have been having an issue waking up with arthritic stiffness lately and now will find one of her magnets.

    I have used magnetic bracelets in the past with good results. I like the magnetised hematite.

    This was a great idea for a discussion. I look forward to hearing if others have had successes with magnets.

  • marjstratton
    marjstratton Posts: 1,132 ✭✭✭✭

    I had friends in the past who were very enthusiastic about magnets for pain and arthritis. I have gotten a hematite bracelet. I find it quite attractive, but I'm not sure that it helps my pain much.

  • Tave
    Tave Posts: 952 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I've heard good and bad about magnet therapy, though I've never tried it myself.

    It could have something to do with the quality of magnets, too. Some cheap ones may do more harm than good. You get what you pay for.

  • annbeck62
    annbeck62 Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭✭

    Years ago I went to a holistic practitioner and they used magnet therapy. It wasn't for pain. I don't remember why they prescribed it but it seemed to work really well.

  • stephanie447
    stephanie447 Posts: 404 ✭✭✭

    The cost of the magnets shouldn't really be a factor. Magnet strength is measured in gauss and so you just don't want to overdo it with TOO MUCH gauss. But the cheap ceramic magnets you can get for putting things up on the fridge are actually a decent gauss and can work quite well.

    The bigger issue is potentially the polarization. Some say "positive" (and different magnet healers define this differently) can be problematic but my feeling is just don't overdo it.