When you first hear about magnetic therapy, your first instinct might be to ask: Does this really work? Many Americans use magnetic therapy and would swear up and down that it does help alleviate different types of chronic pain. This article will help answer some of your magnetic therapy questions and answer the most obvious one: Does magnetic therapy really work?

- How Magnet Therapy Works:

Magnetic therapy works by relaxing capillary walls in the body and in this way, increasing blood flow throughout the body. This increased blood flow will help any painful areas in the body. The magnets are simply placed by the skin in order to relax the capillary walls.

Magnet therapy also claims to prevent muscle spasms that may be the root to many forms of pain. Some of these forms of pain are relieved because the magnetic therapy can actually lesson muscle contractions.

Magnetic therapy is also said to interfere with electrochemical reactions which take place within nerve cells. This can actually limit the cells ability to send pain messages to the brain.

On top of of this, magnetic therapy has no known side effects so the risks are much less then taking aspirin or ibuprophen for pain.

- Other Studies:

There seems to be a very large body of evidence in support of magnetic therapy to treat pain. Some of these studies include fibromyalgia patients who felt more pain relief by sleeping on magnetic mattresses compared to those who didn't, and magnetic foot pads that were used to relieve numbness and other pain related to patients with diabetes.

Some studies have shown that 80% of chronic pain sufferers could benefit from magnetic therapy. If these studies continue to produce positive results, it looks like magnetic therapy might be the answer for many chronic pain sufferers.

- How To Use the Magnets:

The magnets should be placed against the skin and directly over the area that is causing pain. If the magnet does not seem to be relieving pain after a few days, you can reposition the magnet over the nearest acupuncture point.

Some Common Uses for Magnetic Therapy Include:

- Back Pain

- Arthritis

- Foot Pain

- Tennis Elbow

- Headaches and migraines

- The Bottom Line:

Magnetic therapy may or may not work for you, but there seems to be an impressive body of evidence that suggests magnetic therapy might be worth a try. Especially if you have tried other forms of pain therapy with limited success.

Some magnetic therapy users will use magnetic therapy in conjunction with other types of pain relief including acupuncture or massage therapy.

Magnetic therapy is used for many different types of pain, and as you might have guess, that means there are many different magnetic therapy products on the market. These range from magnetic mattresses to magnetic chairs to magnetic foot pads. Finding a magnetic therapy solution that is right for you should not prove too difficult, especially as magnetic therapy continues to grow in popularity.