Magnetic Madness

Magnetic bracelets, wristbands, insoles, neck braces and such, have been around for a long time now and people are still fooled into buying these products. Of course, they are just another example of quackery that seems all pervasive today.

My engineering/scientific training means that magnetism is a subject I know something about and I never could – and still can’t – see how any of these things could provide any health benefits. Well, now it seems like the British Medical Journal agrees with me; they have recently issued a statement indicating that so-called magnetic therapy has no proven results and that any healing effect is likely to be small. I think they are a little wrong, I would say that any healing effect is virtually certain to be non-existent!

As usual, the purveyors of magnetic medical trinkets make no attempt to explain – in technical terms that are not hilarious – how magnetism is beneficial, it’s just the same tired old message, don’t think, just believe…and buy! If you have bought, or are thinking of buying a magnetic miracle, try this small thought experiment first.

All the blood in your body has about enough iron in it to make a small nail; the iron is distributed evenly throughout. Now, just consider exactly what could be achieved by the (tiny) magnetic effect upon this iron? The answer is not much, indeed, nothing that you could possibly notice or measure. Always keep in mind the placebo effect and the fact that most ailments are self-limiting, e.g. if you catch cold and take no medication at all, the cold will most likely run it’s course and leave.