If you've been thinking about magnetic therapy jewelry for any kind of pain relief, you may be confused about your choices. You may also be doubtful that applying magnet therapy for pain will work for you.

Below are 10 facts you may not have heard about the subject.

1. At New York Medical College in 1999, researchers tested the pain relief capabilities of magnets. They found that 9 in 10 diabetic patients with nerve pain were successfully treated for pain with magnets. Since only 3 out of 10 with sham magnets experienced relief, the researchers recommended magnets for all patients experiencing nerve pain.

2. Are magnets as effective at pain relief as morphine? That's what neurologist Dr. Robert Holcombe said after using magnets for many years on patients with back pain.

3. A study of 194 men and women with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee was performed between 2001 and 2003. Patients were given commercially available magnetic bracelets. The conclusion of the study? Pain from osteoarthritis of the hip and knee decreases when wearing magnetic bracelets. Experts agree, however, that magnetic jewelry works locally, and you should not rely on a bracelet for lower body pain.

4. Studies have shown that magnetic pulses can relieve severe depression. Researchers in this field say that the pulses activate cells deep within the brain. Static magnets are used by Tibetan monks to relieve depression.

5. Dr. Michael Weintraub reported that a study of 375 diabetics who wore a magnetic device for one month showed that the magnets were "equal to or better than that from drugs."

6. Pulsed magnetic fields affect bones and tissue, and they are used to help heal slow-healing fractures, muscle tears, knee pain and neck pain.

7. In a 1997 study of magnets and severe post-polio pain, researchers at the University of Houston tested 50 patients. The study was considered a success. To prevent the placebo effect, half of the participants were treated with sham magnets, and half used static diskmagnets at the site of their pain. The real magnets eased the pain by more than half, but the sham ones had very little effect.

8. It is a known fact that magnetic fields affect living tissue, and therefore our bodies. Pulsed magnetic fields are used to treat mental illness, and Yale researchers have shown that this treatment reduces the phantom "voices" schizophrenics hear in their minds.

9. Japanese studies show that static magnets help to relieve pain in the neck and shoulders.

10. Dr. Ron Lawrence used magnets to treat carpal tunnel syndrome. In a 22 person study, 91 percent of the patients showed improvement after using magnets for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Studies from around the world have shown that magnet therapy can help with many conditions, including: high blood pressure,neck, shoulder, and back pain, peripheral neuropathy, headaches, and even reducing the side effects of chemotherapy.

As a method of self-treatment, it remains that using magnetic therapy for pain relief is the most popular application.|It has been noted by many medical doctors have publically noted, the popularity of magnets in certain cultures after many years of usage is a testament to their effectiveness.|So, too, is the world wide volume of sales of magnetic products.