More Complementary & Integrative Healthcare Articles
Magnets and Your Health
Using magnets for health is nothing new.Historical records indicate that ancient peoples of Africa ground up and used magnetite in potions, food and topical applications. Various accounts document the use of magnets in attempts to treat pain beginning when people started working with lodestones, naturally magnetized stones. As early as the third century AD, Greek physicians were using magnetized metals in ringsto treat gout problems, andpills of magnetized amber to address bleeding conditions.
Moving forward into the middle ages, doctors used magnets for many purposes from wound cleaning and retrieving iron-containing objects from the body, such as arrowheads,to offering treatments for gout, arthritis and otherconditions. Ongoing historical andanthropological research continues to uncover increased detail about the historical role ofmagnets and health through medical records and folklore literature. There are many theories from both the research of science and the makers of magnets proposing how magnets treat pain, though none have yet been proven unconditionally. The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is currently funding research on magnets for pain and other disease and conditions.
Today, magnets are used by many people to try and feel better when conventional and allopathic medicine is not producing a result the patient is satisfied with. This is for a variety of reasons including too many medications prescribed for that persons lifestyle, too many trips to specialists without satisfactory results, and frustrationwith asystem that is too big forthe individual to get the desired attentionfor their very real and individual pain patterns.
Along with the accepted protocols of chiropractic care, massage, acupuncture, good nutrition and respect for sleep and exercise,the use of magnets as a possible adjunct for feeling better and addressing overall improved health should be explored. There are no side effects or dangers and while the benefits of its use have not been scientifically proven, people use them for a variety of discomforts for themselves and even for their pets.
