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should be highly prized. Shamans and priests used them as healing
stones and they attracted (no pun intended) great credibility for
their success. All manner of ailments were said to be susceptible
to the lodestone, from toothache and snakebites to back pain and
the rheumatic conditions. Ever since, magnets have never been far
from medicine and they have had a resurgence in popularity among
celebrities and sportspeople, who use them to deal with all sorts
of musculoskeletal problems. Interestingly, according to the Journal
of the American Medical Association, global sales of magnets for
health reasons amount to ve billion dollars a year. One suspects
132 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY...
that because Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI scanning) has
become such a respected diagnostic tool and has entered common
parlance, magnetism in a health sense has become unconsciously
legitimised.
Despite the fact that there is little positive evidence that magnetism
works in health, I have known many patients who seem to have
derived improvement from using magnets. As long as you do not
have a pacemaker which could conceivably be a ected by a magnetic
eld, then there is no harm in trying magnets to help ease your back
pain.
How do they work?
This is far from clear. Some therapists suggest that they work by
enhancing the body s magnetic eld. Others assert that they
somehow improve blood ow to the area. I have seen no hard
evidence to support either theory.
Back wraps
These are available from various magnet therapy companies and
some health shops. They consist of a Velcro binding belt or wrap
which has magnets inserted into pockets so that you can overlay the
magnets on your painful areas.
Magnetic bracelets
These are sold in jewellers , gi shops and sports shops and many
athletes and sportsmen swear by them. I can nd no speci c
trial about their e cacy with back pain, but in 2004 a study was
published in the British Medical Journal, about their use in patients
with knee and hip arthritis. Researchers from the Peninsula Medical
School studied 194 patients aged between 45 and 80 years of age
from ve general practices in Devon, who had osteoarthritis of either
DIY COMPLEMENTARY THERAPIES 133
the knee or the hip. The patients were divided into three randomised
groups and were asked to wear either a standard strength magnetic
bracelet, a weak magnetic bracelet or a dummy, placebo bracelet. The
trial lasted for 12 weeks, during which time they were asked to record
scores on a recognised pain scoring scale.
The conclusion was that there was a recognised pain reduction in
arthritis of the knee and hip when standard magnetic bracelets were
worn, but that the strength of the magnet was important, needing
to be 170 tesla (the SI unit of magnetic ux density) or greater; the
study found that the weak bracelet group recorded similar levels of
pain to the placebo group. The researchers pointed out that they
were uncertain whether the response was due to speci c or non-
speci c e ects.
This trial is not conclusive, but there is at least some evidence of
e cacy for the wearing of a magnetic bracelet. And as they are not
terribly expensive, it may be worth trying one.
Copper bracelets
These are also worn by a great many people who feel that they
help considerably. One trial was done in 1976 on 300 patients with
arthritic pain, who were randomly allocated to either a placebo
group, an active group or a control group. The placebo group were
given non-copper bracelets which were anodised to look like copper
and the active group wore copper bracelets. The control group were
not given any type of bracelet.
There was a signi cant di erence in the pain reduction reported by
those who wore the copper bracelets as opposed to the people in the
placebo and control groups. Curiously, there was also a tiny weight
reduction in the copper bracelets, whereas there was no change in
the non-copper bracelets. This implies that there may be a slight
absorption of copper through the skin. Whether this was mirrored
by a rise in the individual s copper levels was not recorded. I suspect
134 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY...
that any amount of copper absorbed would have been negligible
and certainly not enough to adversely a ect health.
On the evidence I am unsure as to whether copper bracelets
and magnets actually do a lot, but there is at least a suggestion
that they might help. That being the case, you may nd that it is
worth a try.
135
Chapter 9
Who Else Could Help?
There is only one item in this chapter, but it is an important one since
it concerns other avenues that you can try, which can be incorporated
into your pain management plan.
There are a confusing number of di erent types of therapy which
one can try. Some are available on the NHS, but you may have to
consider going privately for others. Check with your GP as to whether
he or she has available funding for such a referral.
If you are referred or decide to see someone of your own volition,
then it is a good idea to ask about the quali cations they have and
the training they received. Do not worry about causing o ence; if
the therapist is a member of a recognised organisation they should
have no problem about answering your question. Remember, it is
your back that you are asking them to treat, so you have a vested
interest in knowing that they are quali ed.
50. Consider seeing a specialist
As mentioned in Action 6, Visit your GP, in Chapter 1, your GP is
probably the best rst port of call to get a diagnosis and perhaps to
get the ball rolling.
136 50 THINGS YOU CAN DO TODAY...
Physiotherapy
Your GP may refer you to a physiotherapist or to a physiotherapy
department. Physiotherapy has always been part of the NHS and
physiotherapists are used to treating back pain.
Physiotherapy is a profession that uses a variety of physical
treatments to help people with a whole range of physical conditions.
They use massage and manipulation with their hands to relieve
muscle pains and sti ness and to help the circulation to various parts
of the body. They also use heat, cold, electrical current, ultrasound, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]