Magnets and Back Pain

The Journal of the American Medical Association has published a pilot study on the treatment of low back pain (LBP) with magnets. The study found that the magnets did not improve the patients' pain.

Twenty patients with chronic LBP were selected for the study. The patients wore a flexible rubberlike compound impregnated with active magnetic material. An identical device which had been demagnetized was used as a placebo. Patient swore the magnet six hours per day, three days per week for one week. The placebo device was worn for an identical period.

A standardized questionnaire for pain measurement was used. Measurements of patients' low back ranges of motion were also obtain. At the conclusion of the study, no statistically significant differences between the patients wearing  real magnets and those wearing the placebo were found.

The study was performed at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Prescott, Arizona. According to the researchers,  "To our knowledge, this is the only randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study reporting the use of permanent magnets on more than a single occasion and for more than 45 minutes." However, they cautioned that the study "was not intended to prove or disprove the effectiveness of magnet therapy in general. Additional studies using different  magnets (unipolar and bipolar), treatment times, and patient populations are needed."

Magnets are a popular method of treating pain. Sales of $5 billion worldwide have been reported. (JAMA. 2000;283:1322-1325)