Magnetic Bracelets For ArthritisLooking for arthritis relief and a little bling? Magnetic bracelets can be purchased for over $200 to mimic fine jewelry or a few bucks at a discount store. What's the difference? Magnets used for therapeutic value are much more powerful than the cute stick-on magnets that hold up notes on the refrigerator door. The most powerful medical magnet is found in the MRI, which is "Magnetic Resonance Imaging". In between these extremes are magnets in jewelry, shoe inserts, neck braces, headbands and lower back belts. All of these wearable magnetic items are touted as non-drug ways to relieve pain of arthritis. The strength of a magnet is measured as "gauss". A stick-on magnet may be 10 gauss, good for holding memos. A therapeutic wearable magnetic item measures between 200 and 1,500 gauss. Anything less lacks the potential for therapeutic value. By comparison, the MRI is thousands of gauss more intense. That's enough about the technical side, what's the real attraction to magnetic bracelets as a natural treatment for arthritis pain? Trying to stay active, continue working and raising a family often pushes people with arthritis to the limits of their pain tolerance. Those who do not want to become dependent on pain medications or cease their activities are always looking for a pain management option that does not limit their lifestyle. Magnetic bracelets fit that requirement, with the possible exception of wearing a magnetic bracelet while your hands are on a laptop computer or using another electronic device. Magnets and electronics don't do well together. Something gives and it just might be the memory from your PDA. That's a pain of a different kind. Let's accept for a moment the claims that high gauss magnets worn on the body could be therapeutic. If your arthritis joint pain is mainly in your wrists, then wearing magnetic bracelets would place the magnets near the area of inflammation. That might work. But if your arthritis pain is in the knees, what can a bracelet on your wrist do for the knees? (Ankle bracelets are stylish, but knee bracelets are not on the trend list). Even fans of magnet therapy admit that the magnet needs to be applied onto or very close to the skin to be effective. Given that criteria, the bracelet is nowhere near the knee. Persons with multiple pain symptoms and locations could end up wrapped in magnetic chains which is neither a fashion statement nor easy to get past airport security. Does magnetic jewelry work? Some people swear by it, others swear at themselves for wasting the money. Medical studies suggest that wearing a magnetic bracelet sets up a placebo effect. The wearer believes the magnetic bracelet will help arthritis pain and increase joint movement, so that's what happens. The medical community is skeptical of magnetic therapy even though its roots go back to Galen in ancient Greece as medicine links to Hippocrates. So if the magnetic bracelet fits, wear it. Just don't throw away your medications. |