SIGHTINGS


 
Neurologist Finds That Magnets
Do Help In Pain Relief
By Verena Dobnik
Associated Press Writer
1-6-99

 
NEW YORK (AP) _ A preliminary study suggests there may be something to one popular folk remedy _ magnets really might ease pain in some cases. More research is needed, agree the physician who conducted the small study and an outside observer. Dr. Michael Weintraub, a neurologist at the New York Medical College in Valhalla, said a group of patients with chronic foot pain reported improvement after wearing pads equipped with low-intensity magnets. His study in this month's American Journal of Pain Management run counter to studies that had failed to show any beneficial effect from magnets, which have been used for centuries on various ailments but without scientific proof they actually did any good. Weintraub began his four-month study in July 1997, using 24 patients with chronic pain caused by diabetes as well as other ailments. The tests were conducted at his office in Briarcliff Manor and at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow.

Nineteen patients completed the study. In the first month, each person was given a pad equipped with magnets for one foot and a nonmagnetized pad for the other foot, and told to wear them 24 hours a day. They were not told which pad was which, and after the first month the pads were switched. They described their pain levels twice daily using a five-point scale. By the end of the study, nine of the 10 diabetics reported less pain by an average of a full point. Three of the nine nondiabetics had a similar result. About 20 millions diabetics are subject to painful burning sensations, numbness and tingling in the feet and hands. Weintraub's study is ``a tremendous breakthrough,'' said Dr. Paul Rosch, president of the American Institute of Stress in Yonkers. Rosch, who has written about the history of magnet therapy, cautioned that more work is needed. ``We don't know the mechanism by which this works. It's all trial and error,'' he said Wednesday. In addition, ``from a statistical point of view, the sampling is very small. But it does work, '' he said, adding that he would now try the method on his own patients. Weintraub also said that because his study used a relatively small group, it must be regarded as preliminary to further research.





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