Magnet therapy

Magnet therapy, or magnetic therapy, is an alternative medical procedure based on the concept that certain medical disorders can be effectively treated by exposure to magnetic fields. It is most commonly recommended by practitioners as a cure for joint disorders and back problems. Critics charge that no verifiable evidence has been put forth that magnet therapy has any real benefits, and thus relegate it to the realm of pseudo-science.

Proponents of magnet therapy claim that subjecting certain parts of the body to doses of magnetic "energy" (or waves) has a beneficial effect. This belief has led to the popularization of an industry involving the sale of magnetic-based products including magnetic bracelets, magnetic straps for wrists, ankles, and the back, magnetic blankets (blankets with magnets woven into the material), and magnetic water (water that has been "magnetized"). Criticism of these products focuses on various scientific facts about magnets, including the claim that the typical magnet used in a bracelet purchased over-the-counter is not powerful enough to penetrate human skin, let alone strong enough to have a lasting effect on muscle tissue, bones, blood vessels, or organs.

The vast majority of information sources and Web sites promoting magnetic therapy belong to people and understanably biased companies that sell magnetic products.

Mesmer and Magnet Therapy In 1766 Dr. Franz Mesmer introduced a technique which he called "animal magnetism," in his doctoral thesis, De planetarum Influxu, which was in turn heavily influenced by the works of Richard Mead[?]. He theorized initially that the influence of the planets was somehow related to magnetism, and that these influences could be reproduced and cures effected by stroking diseased bodies with magnets. In 1773 Mesmer successfully defended a legal claim by the Jesuit priest, Maximilian Hell[?] that Mesmer had stolen his ideas about the use of magnetism. When Mesmer became familiar with the work of the celebrated Swiss exorcist, Johann Joseph Gassner[?] he abandoned the use of magnets, preferring the hypothesis that there existed a naturally occurring force in the living body, i. e. animal magnetism. With this the term "magnetism" became ambiguous, and the path that led to magnet therapy became known as ferro-magnetism. In 1784 the French government established a commission, chaired by Benjamin Franklin to investigate the medicinal value of animal magnetism; within the narrow terms of reference of that commission animal magnetism was found to have no curative value.

Animal magnetism was a forerunner of what would later became better known as hypnosis. The term "animal magnetism" is used today as a popular reference to the supposed ability of some people to attract or be attracted to each other.

See also Alex Chiu, Franz Mesmer

External Link

• Magnetic Therapy: Plausible Attraction? (http://www.csicop.org/si/9807/magnet) - a well balanced and extensive article from Skeptical Inquirer