Do those magnetic therapy bracelets work?

My wife bought one and the answer is no.

I’ve never used the bracelets, but I’ve been walking around on magnetic insoles for a few years now, and they have helped tremendously with lessening foot and knee pain. I also sleep on a magnetic pad, and that helped with quality of sleep and back issues in the morning. I use Nikken products. I had no luck with the standard drugstore brands, but the Nikken has helped a lot.

I wouldn’t dare quip that my view is polar opposite to my friend @JilltheTooth,‘s but as a ad writer who’s hawked some pretty silly things over the years, let’s just say I’m skeptical.

I’ve had people tell me that they work only because I think they work, I don’t argue, because the operative phrase there is “they work”. I don’t care why.

I think it’s a psychosomatic thing – people think they’ll work, so they work. Like a placebo effect thing. I feel bad for people who are desperate for help so they spend money they don’t have in order to be potentially disappointed. But hey, if it works for @JilltheTooth, more power to ya. I just don’t like that they’re marketed as a miracle cure and that some people are taken advantage of.

My (former) Chinese acupuncturist stuck little magnets on either side of my lumbar spine. I wore them for a week.

They helped only to increase Dr. Pang’s profit.

A one-year-old boy that I know has been wearing a magnetic necklace for about 2 or 3 months now, and it apparently helps ease the pain of teething. I’m still skeptical, but the mother of this little boy says he isn’t as fussy with it on. I think it’s mainly the placebo affect type thing, but how would that work in this case?

@ChocolateReigns

The placebo effect can work on the mother, too. There may be no discernible change in the baby’s cries, but mom may not be as bothered by them, may attribute them to other causes… or the baby’s teething process has advanced naturally to a point where it’s no longer uncomfortable.

To answer the OP, everything will work for a certain percentage of people. It’s why double-blind studies are needed to “prove” effectiveness, where neither the tester nor the subject knows whether the bracelet being placed on the subject’s wrist is magnetic or not. Even in double-blind tests, some people claim “improvement” in their situation – whether they were ‘treated’ with the magnetic or non-magnetic bracelet. The proof of effectiveness is when a statistically significant group of subjects notices improvement, and the experiment can be repeated with similar populations and obtain similar results.

Of course not.

It might work for me for the simple reason that my hemoglobin has a high iron count, and the magnetic properties of the insoles and sleep pad draw blood to the affected areas. No absolute proof or refutation in any case. Some dealers will let you test drive the product (I did) first. It worked, I bought it. See for yourself.

Unequivocally absolutely not even a tiny little bit.

@Rarebear:—-Waffling again?—