Survey Finds It Third Alternative Treatment of Choice
Most studies of "alternative" care present a list of the most popular forms of care. In virtually every recent study, chiropractic is vying for the top spot, often followed by massage therapy, with herbs and vitamin supplements rounding out the leaders. However, a new national phone survey ("America Hurts") of more than 1,000 men and women conducted by Opinion Research International has magnet therapy in the number three slot. CME Health, a consumer health consulting group, analyzed the survey data and emerged with the following findings:
| Pain Surgery Finds It Third Alternative Treatment of Choice | |||
| Complaints of Frequent or Constant Pain | Causes of Pain for Women | ||
| Back Pain Leg, Knee, Foot Pain Shoulder, Arm Pain Neck Pain and Headaches Wrist Pain | 31% 30% 25% 23% 12% | Health Conditions Job Activities Household Chores | 45% 23% 20% |
| Causes of Pain for Men | Supplemental" Treatment Use | ||
| Job Activities Sports Health Conditions | 49% 27% 20% | Chiropractic Massage Therapy Magnet Therapy | 16% 15% 12% |
The survey stated that magnet therapy was:
Today, there are a plethora of magnet therapy websites ready and willing to sell consumers all sorts of magnetized items: jewelry; mattresses; carpal tunnel wristbands; adjustable vests; body wraps; gloves; and pet bed pads, to name a few. These sites explain that pain/injury relief can be found by placing magnets on specific acupressure points; that the therapy increases peripheral blood flow; reduces swelling of arthritis; calms the nerves; and helps with jet lag/motion sickness. There's no question that magnets and magnatism have interesting properties and many uses, but many are skeptical of magnetic therapy.
David Ramey, DVM, in a review of the subject,3 says that it is "important to differentiate between time-varying electromagnetic machines and static low-intensity magnets which are sewn into various bandages, mattresses and pads." He notes that the USFDA has approved the use of pulsating electromagnetic therapy for the treatment of delayed and nonunion fractures. He adds that the research into the uses of these devices for pain relief or for soft tissue injuries are not approved and that studies have reaped conflicting results.
The strength of magnets is measured in Gauss units. (The "simplified" definition of Gauss is the measurement of magnetic induction of a magnetic field in which one abcoulomb of charge, moving with a component of velocity perpendicular to the field and equal to one centimeter per second, is acted on by a force of one dyne.) One website informs its buyers that "for magnets to work properly and effectively they must be at least 3,950-gauss strength," and that drug store and mail-order magnets are often no more than 800 gauss. Dr. Ramey states that there have been four recent trials on pain relief and low-intensity static magnets: two with positive results and two with negative results. The two positive studies suggested that magnets were useful in the treatment of heel pain associated with diabetic neuropathy, and in relief of trigger point pain associated with postpolio syndrome, respectively. The negative reports were for the treatment of neck and shoulder pain and treatment of foot pain. The study on neck and shoulder pain concluded that there was a strong placebo effect in the magnetic devices studied.1
In a 1994 survey of 200 physical therapists and rheumatologists, about five percent judged magnets effective in pain relief of seven different conditions. The questions about the effectiveness of magnetic therapy are for future research, but for many people, (as evidenced by the 40% of arthritis sufferers who were willing to try magnet therapy to ease joint pain) it's much more a matter of "Why not try it? What do I have to lose?"
References
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Many relevant diagnostic signs are not performed deliberately by the examiner or by the patient at the examiner’s direction. They are observed as the patient reacts to their condition. Fortin’s finger sign, Minor’s sign, and Vanzetti’s sign are three examples of this principle.
Spearheaded by burgeoning scientific and clinical research literature, psychedelics have reached a level of media coverage and popular interest that has not been seen for over half a century. By “psychedelics,” we are referring to the unique class of substances that includes psilocybin (the active compound found in so-called “magic mushrooms”), LSD, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ayahuasca, 5-MeO-DMT, and mescaline – each of which occurs in the natural world (except for LSD, which is a semi-synthetic compound).
While working at the Lovelace Medical Center in Albuquerque, N.M., one of the primary care physicians stated that imaging every patient prior to receiving chiropractic was not medically necessary. It was at that point I reconsidered the need for the imaging of every patient to avoid malpractice.
