Focus on Alternative and Complementary Therapies
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Focus Alternat Complement Ther©2005 Pharmaceutical Press
Focus Altern Complement Ther 2006; 11: 39–40
Permanent magnets are widely used for pain relief by people with arthritis. Scientific evidence concerning the effectiveness of magnet therapy for specific conditions is limited and highlights methodological difficulties in blinding participants. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic effectiveness of a commercially available magnetic wrist strap for patients with osteoarthritis.
Forty-five patients with osteoarthritis were recruited from general practices in East Yorkshire and randomly allocated to four treatment sequences using a Latin square crossover design. Each sequence consisted of four phases lasting 16 weeks in total. All participants wore a full-strength bipolar magnetic wrist strap (201 mTesla), a weaker but otherwise identical device (45 mTesla) and a demagnetised device. A copper bracelet was also used as an additional placebo.
Repeated measures analyses for the WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index, the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and a VAS showed no significant difference in pain outcomes between devices. Secondary analysis for the MPQ subscales indicated a difference between devices (P = 0.025) in favour of a 23% reduction in sensory pain for the full-strength device. However, subsequent correction for multiple testing showed that this difference was not statistically significant. Adjustment for medication use also failed to alter findings.
Magnet therapy involving a 201 mTesla magnetic wrist strap may represent an ineffective treatment option for pain management in osteoarthritis.
The trial was funded by WoReN, which is hosted by West Hull PCT. Stewart Richmond holds a Researcher Development Award from the UK Department of Health.
