"(2) Placement of the magnets - self-experimentation may work, but it
is hard to place magnets securely on the lower back and experience
with these devices shows that experience is a good thing... Find
somebody who knows something about back pain and is willing to help
you."

Re the above...I've used neodymium magnets for years with relation to my
chronic low back pain. The magnets that I use are easily placed exactly on
the pain, if used alone, with the use of tape. I also have a magnetic back
belt belt that has 6 neodymium magnets in it. The magnets are housed in
metal clips. The clips slide around on the belt so that they can be placed
wherever the pain is. The belt is strechable and is easily worn anywhere
from hips to upper chest and is not uncomfortable. It's also easily worn
under clothing and not seen.

Some companies do not take returns. Magnetic products in many instances are
considered "Health Products" and as such federal law does not permit returns
since the products cannot be resold.

Marlynn

SEngstrom wrote:

> We have another (unpublished) clinical study of permanent magnets for
> lower back pain and it too showed an improvement over placebo.
>
> One requirement for having a successful therapy is that the magnetic
> field envelops a relevant area and there are two things that need to
> be in place for that to happen:
>
> (1) The field must penetrate deeply enough and reach the target
> tissue. For lower back pain that usually means getting an effective
> distance of at least 2 cm. This is one good reason why the Collacott
> study below failed to show any differences.
>
> (2) Placement of the magnets - self-experimentation may work, but it
> is hard to place magnets securely on the lower back and experience
> with these devices shows that experience is a good thing... Find
> somebody who knows something about back pain and is willing to help
> you.
>
> -Stefan Engstrom
>
> --- In magnotherapy@y..., JBainSI@a... wrote:
> > terrybenton@m... writes:
> > > I need a couple of things from you good people. I have chronic
> lower
> > > back pain that radiates down both legs (but mostly the left leg.
> It
> > > stems from my lower back. I have had a surgery (lumbar
> laminectomy)
> > > and did not progress out of pain very far. 1) What magnetic
> treatment
> > > would you suggest? Why?
> >
> > There are four lower back pain studies that I know of, one is
> negative
> > --------------
> > Treatment of low back pain with arrays of permanent magnets: a
> controlled
> > study
> > McLean, MJ; Holcomb, RR; MacDonald, PW, Sanderson, L and Lombard,
> K:
> > 20th Annual Meeting of the Bioelectromagnetics Society, St. Pete
> Beach, FL,
> > June 7-13, 1998.
> > ABSTRACT A 2x2 randomized double-blind cross-over study was done to
> assess
> > the efficacy of the Magna Bloc in reducing low back and knee pain
> in 54
> > patients at two centers. The Magna Bloc is a magnetic treatment
> device which
> > contains a quadripolar permanent magnet system. Pain was assessed
> using
> > visual analog scale, ranging from zero (no pain) to 100 (maximal
> pain). Prior
> > to any treatment the average pain rating was 52.9 + 23.3 points
> (mean +
> > standard deviation). With treatment, the Magna BlocTM reduced pain
> by an
> > average of 8.11 + 3.38 points more than did the placebo treatment
> (P= 0.030).
> > If confirmed, this would suggest that the Magna Bloc is effective
> in reducing
> > chronic low back and knee pain.
> >
> > Efficacy Of A Static Magnetic Device Against Knee Pain Associated
> With
> > Inflammatory Arthritis
> > Neil Segal, Joseph Houston., Howard Fuchs, Robert Holcomb, Michael
> J. McLean
> > Vanderbilt University Medical School; Division of Rheumatology,
> Department of
> > Medicine; and, Department of Neurology Vanderbilt University
> Medical Center
> > Electromagnetic fields have been used therapeutically for 2000
> years, for
> > indications ranging from headaches to gout (1). There is
> considerable
> > evidence that steady direct current and time-variant
> electromagnetic fields
> > are produced by living bone through metabolic activity and
> pizoelectric
> > activity upon bone deformation respectively (2). Pulsed
> electromagnetic
> > fields (PEMF) have been used for acceleration of fracture and
> osteotomy
> > healing. These effects have been shown to be mediated by reduction
> of
> > osteoclastic resorption of bone, increased vascularization and
> increased rate
> > of bone formation by osteoblasts, and these mechanisms have been
> studied on
> > cellular and gene transcription levels (3). Placebo-controlled
> trials have
> > shown decreased pain and improved functional performance in
> patients with
> > osteoarthritis of the knee with PEMF therapy (4). However,
> relatively few
> > clinical studies have examined the effects of static magnetic
> fields.
> > In this study, we examined the efficacy of treatment with a static
> magnetic
> > field generator as adjunctive therapy for the joint pain in
> patients with
> > inflammatory arthritis. The MagnaBlocĂ" (MB; U.S. patent no
> 5,312,321) is a
> > non-invasive non-significant risk device, consisting of four
> permanent
> > magnets arrayed with alternating polarity in a hypoallergenic
> plastic case.
> > The MagnaBloc™ is approximately 3.5 centimeters in diameter,
> weighs
> > approximately 30 grams and generates a magnetic field of 190
> millitesla. This
> > device reduced mechanical low back pain and knee pain significantly
> more than
> > placebo. Much larger time invariant magnetic fields like those
> produced by
> > magnetic resonance imaging devices have not been shown to be
> harmful to man
> > or animals
> >
> > Spine Fusion for Discogenic Low Back Pain: Outcomes in Patients
> Treated With
> > or Without Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Stimulation
> > Richard A. Marks, M.D.
> > Sixty-one randomly selected patients who underwent lumbar fusion
> surgeries
> > for discogenic low back pain between 1987 and 1994 were
> retrospectively
> > studied. All patients had failed to respond to preoperative
> conservative
> > treatments. Forty-two patients received adjunctive therapy with
> pulsed
> > electromagnetic field (PEMF) stimulation, and 19 patients received
> no
> > electrical stimulation of any kind. Average follow-up time was 15.6
> months
> > postoperatively. Fusion succeeded in 97.6% of the PEMF group and in
> 52.6% of
> > the unstimulated group (P<.001). The observed agreement between
> clinical and
> > radiographic outcome was 75%. The use of PEMF stimulation enhances
> bony
> > bridging in lumbar spinal fusions. Successful fusion underlies a
> good
> > clinical outcome in patients with discogenic low back pain.
> >
> > Bipolar Permanent Magnets for the Treatment of Chronic Low Back
> Pain A Pilot
> > Study
> > Collacott E A; Zimmerman JT;White DW;Rindone J P;
> > JAMA. 2000;283:1322-1325
> > Context Chronic low back pain is one of the most prevalent and
> costly
> > medical conditions in the United States. Permanent magnets have
> become a
> > popular treatment for various musculoskeletal conditions, including
> low back
> > pain, despite little scientific support for therapeutic benefit.
> > Objective To compare the effectiveness of 1 type of therapeutic
> magnet, a
> > bipolar permanent magnet, with a matching placebo device for
> patients with
> > chronic low back pain.
> > Design Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover
> pilot study
> > conducted from February 1998 to May 1999.
> > Setting An ambulatory care physical medicine and rehabilitation
> clinic at a
> > Veterans Affairs hospital.
> > Patients Nineteen men and 1 woman with stable low back pain of a
> mean of 19
> > years' duration, with no past use of magnet therapy for low back
> pain. Twenty
> > patients were determined to provide 80% power in the study at P<.05
> to detect
> > a difference of 2 points (the difference believed to be clinically
> > significant) on a visual analog scale (VAS).
> > Interventions For each patient, real and sham bipolar permanent
> magnets were
> > applied, on alternate weeks, for 6 hours per day, 3 days per week
> for 1 week,
> > with a 1-week washout period between the 2 treatment weeks.
> > Main Outcome Measures Pretreatment and posttreatment pain
> intensity on a
> > VAS; sensory and affective components of pain on the Pain Rating
> Index (PRI)
> > of the McGill Pain Questionnaire; and range of motion (ROM)
> measurements of
> > the lumbosacral spine, compared by real vs sham treatment.
> > Results Mean VAS scores declined by 0.49 (SD, 0.96) points for real
> magnet
> > treatment and by 0.44 (SD, 1.4) points for sham treatment (P
> = .90). No
> > statistically significant differences were noted in the effect
> between real
> > and sham magnets with any of the other outcome measures (ROM, P
> = .66; PRI, P
> > = .55).
> > Conclusions Application of 1 variety of permanent magnet had no
> effect on
> > our small group of subjects with chronic low back pain.
> > --------------
> > The negative study was only 3 treatments, of 6 hours duration. I
> would not
> > expect a response that quickly as a rough rule of thumb is that
> long term
> > conditions tend to take longer to solve.
> > However I have seen of back pain after major back surgery being
> significantly
> > reduced in less than 10 minutes using a only a wrist band.
> >
> > So, my suggestion is a back belt and a wristband to be worn 24/7.
> There can
> > be no guarantees of success and we do not understand the mechanism,
> so find a
> > distributor who will offer you a money back guarantee and if that
> particular
> > treatment does not work, try another.
> >
> > > 2) If it has worked, where do you get these magnets?
> >
> >
> > You will find a list of manufacturers on my website. The devices
> I
> > recommended would cost 125 UKPounds and come with a three month
> money back
> > guarantee.
> >
> >
> > And
> > > are they superior to the magnetic belts you can get at the drug
> > > store?
> >
> > There are two basic ways of applying magnets, with only one pole
> against the
> > body, or with both poles against the body. There are also
> different
> > strengths of magnets.
> > And there is no way of telling which system would suit you and your
> > particular condition best.
> > If one system doesn't work for you, try another. That's why the
> money back
> > guarantee is so important.
> > And your drug store does not offer it. Probably has relatively
> weak magnets
> > as well.
> >
> > > I'm thinking about investing in some magnets if it seems like a
> wise
> > >
> >
> > I think it's a wise investment, but then I would, wouldn't I.<g>
> >
> > Best wishes
> > --
> > John Bain
> > UK TV Sound Director, magnotherapy user & distributor
> > http://members.aol.com/JBainSI/Magnotherapy.html
> > Surround Sound for Television
>
>
>
>
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