What Are the Benefits of Magnetic Healing?
The field of magnetic healing dates back to Franz Mesmer's work at the end of the 1900s. Proponents of magnetic healing point to the facts that some animals use the Earth's magnetic field to navigate and that humans have "magnetite" in their brain tissue as indications that magnetism can effect the body's natural processes. The FDA has not approved magnetic therapy and has even taken action against some marketers.-
Speeding Fracture Healing
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Magnetic therapy has shown promise as a treatment to decrease the time it takes a fractured bone to heal. However, only magnetic pulse therapy, which uses electro-magnets that can be turned on and off quickly, has proven effective. No study has definitively shown that static, or nonelectric, magnets have an impact on the rate that bones heal.
Improved Blood Flow
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Magnetic therapy proponents also claim that wearing magnets on the body can improve blood flow to the extremities. A clinical study cited by the American Cancer Society found no difference between the blood flow in the arms of people given real magnets and those with fakes. In 1997 the FDA ordered a magnetic therapy company, called Magnetharapy, to stop claiming that its product could increase blood and oxygen flow.
Cancer
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Magnetic therapy marketers commonly assert that magnets can help relieve cancer-related pain by realigning the negative magnetic poles in cells. Other claims include that magnets can reduce the acid in the body which helps fight cancer and that magnets can even reverse tumor growth. The American Cancer Society does not support any findings that suggest that magnets can be used to treat cancer. According to their website, placebos worked better than magnets in a study that examined magnets' ability to reduce pain associated with breast cancer.
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