Do Magnets Work? - Magnetic Jewelry

Magnetic jewelry comes in all shapes and sizes and is available just about everywhere. While magnetic necklaces and bracelets seem to be the most common, you can also find magnetic rings, earrings, and pendants. Cleopatra is even reported to have worn a magnetic pendant on her forehead supposedly to preserve her beauty. Like I said, magnetic jewelry can be found in many places. Offline I see it most often at craft fairs and at those small carts in shopping malls. Online they are widely available. I did a search on Google for "magnetic jewelry" and received over 1 million results.

The makers and sellers of these magnets report a wide variety of claims about what they can do and how effective they are. Unfortunately there hasn't been much scientific research reported in mainstream journals and articles to back up most of the claims, so you are left with word-of-mouth testimonials and have no idea if it was placebo effects or not. One thing that I feel supports the use of magnets is that they have been used for healing since ancient times. Things that don't work typically pass after a while.

Some of the reasons that people use magnetic jewelry are

• Pain relief
• Headaches
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tennis Elbow
• Arthritis symptoms
• Swelling and inflammation

Someone even told me once that using both a magnetic necklace and a magnetic braclet at the same time has helped some people with Parkinson's Disease to regain at least some control over their shaking. While this is a trustworthy person that I know, like I said before, there hasn't been much evidence in the way of placebo-controlled double-blind studies to back up the claims.

There are some positive points though. Some research is being done on using magnets for wellness, and the few small studies I've heard of have been positive enough to justify bigger studies. One nice thing about magnets is that there are no known side-effects, at least for lower strength magnets ( a few thousand Gauss or less ). The only reason I have heard for not using magnetic jewelry is if you have an implanted device, like a pacemaker.

One last thing. To find out if magnetic jewelry, or any magnetic item, will work for you, go with a known manufacturer with a good reputation. Ask around to get a reommendation. Doctors, chiropractors, and massage therapists could be a good source of information. For what it's worth, I'm a massage therapist and my family uses this magnetic jewelry.