Magnets on Pain

Recent studies have shown that magnets may work in helping relieve pain, but there is still more research to be done on how effective they are. Magnets work by increasing blood flow to the injured tissue. Increasing blood flow will increase the amount of oxygen and nutrients arriving at the injured tissue. This will help speed up the healing process.  Researchers have shown that a mild magnetic field can cause blood vessels in the body to dilate or constrict, increasing blood flow and suppressing inflammation.  Magnets also may help prevent muscle spasms, which causes many forms of pain, by interfering with muscle contractions. They also interfere with electrochemical reactions within the nerve cells, blocking their ability to transmit pain messages to the brain. 

Magnetic therapy is said to relieve pain from arthritis, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, sinus and stress headaches, asthma, muscle spasms, strains, joint pain, and swelling. One benefit of using magnet therapy opposed to other relief methods is there are no negative side effects of using it. Not everyone should use magnet therapy. Those that are pregnant, have pacemaker or automatic defibrillator, or use and insulin pump should not use magnetic healing. 

When using a magnet therapy, the magnet should be applied directly over the painful area on the skin. They can be adhered by ordinary adhesive bandages. They also can be adhered by Transpore, a paper tape, which may work better.  It is important to get a strong enough magnet when choosing which one to use.  Magnets are measured in gauss; the average refrigerator magnet has a gauss of about 50. Most pain relieving magnets measure between 300-1000 gauss. They also come in a variety of shapes and sizes: wrist and ankle jewelry, Velcro wraps, even magnet-filled pads to fit on your bed. These wraps and jewelry can be placed in several spots on your body to help speed up your healing process.