| Many magnet sales people make unsubstantiated claims about what their products are capable of. Some use testimonials to support their claims. However, one magnet manufacturer, Bioflex®, supports its
claims with an exhaustive list of studies which have been conducted (see Bioflex®
Magnet Medical Studies). The most commonly sited report
supporting the claims made by magnet manufacturers is a double-blind study
conducted at Baylor University in 1997 on postpolio patients. (Vallabona,
et at 1997) The study concludes, "The application of a device
delivering static magnetic fields of 300 to 500 Gauss over a pain trigger point
results in significant and prompt relief of pain in postpolio
patients." Pain was quantified using the McGill Pain Questionair, and
patients who were administered the active magnets showed a statistically
significant improvement in pain compared to the control group (change in pain
score 5.2 +/- 3.2 for the active magnet group and 1.1 +/- 1.6 for the control
group) The .Bioflex® Barry University Medical Study
was a double-blind study to test the effectiveness of magnetic pads in reducing
foot pain. Patients who were administered magnetized pads rather than sham ones
reported better pain relief. Of those receiving magnetized pads, 57.7%
experienced subjective relief of pain, and 77.1% showed improvement in walking.
From the control group only 16.6% of test subjects reported subjective relief of
pain and 16.6% showed improvement in walking. Bioflex Klinic Bavaria Medical Study
studied 100 patients who either had localized lumbar pain, cervical pain
syndrome, or periarthropathy humeroscapularis. Their study showed that
"compared to the control groups a significantly higher therapeutic
effectiveness was found for all trial criteria in all indication groups with
magnetized foils." |
