Summary of a 12-month double-blind, clinical test of magnetic mattress pads.
Carried out by Sanikukal Hospital, Tokyo Communications Hospital and Kouseikai Suzuki Hospital, by Dr. Kazuo Shimodaira. 1990.
The mattress pads used in this study were typical full-size pads containing 124 permanent ferrite magnets with magnetic field strengths of 750-950 gauss each. The pads themselves were made oil two sheets of felt with the magnets sandwiched between them. The felt sheets were then wrapped in a cloth cover. The total number of subjects of this double-blind clinical experiment was 431 (216 male, 215 female). 375 subjects were given the magnetic pads, 56 were given non-magnetic pads. None of the 431 subjects knew which pad they were sleeping on. Subjects selected for the experiment were those with chief complaints related to:
- Neck and Shoulder pain
- Back and Lower Back Pain
- Back Pain (general)
- Lower Limb Pain
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
To determine the presence of any side effects, blood pressure, hemoglobin, number of erythrocytes, and number of leukocytes were examined before and after the use of the mattress pads. Besides blood sedimentation, and TP, COL, ALP, GOT, GPT, Na, and K were also examined, as were functions of the kidneys, liver, pancreas, and the entire circulatory system.
Results:
|
Symptom |
Total Cases |
# of Positive |
% of Total |
# of No Results |
% of Total |
| Neck & Shoulder Pain |
66 |
47 |
71.2% |
19 |
28.8% |
| Back & Lower Back Pain |
76 |
61 |
80.3% |
15 |
19.7% |
| Back Pain (general) |
31 |
25 |
80.7% |
6 |
19.3% |
| Lower Limb Pain |
68 |
54 |
79.4% |
14 |
20.6% |
| Insomnia |
70 |
61 |
87.1% |
9 |
12.9% |
| Fatigue |
64 |
53 |
82.8% |
11 |
17.2% |
Out of 375 total subjects with symptoms, 301 (80.27%) reported positive results. 74 cases (19.73%) reported no results.
Time of Response:
The percentage of subjects who realized the effect of the magnetic mattress pad within 3 days:
| Neck & Shoulder Pain |
46.9% |
| Back & Lower Back Pain |
50.0% |
| Back Pain (general) |
38.7% |
| Lower Limb Pain |
54.4% |
| Insomnia |
64.3% |
| Fatigue |
57.8% |
Out of 375 total subjects who slept on the magnetic mattress pads, 200 (53.3%) realized the effects within 3 days. Over 70% realized the effects within 5 days.
Testing for side effects was conducted at the conclusion of the experiment. Symptoms such as tinnitus, headache, hearing problems, visual disturbances, vertigo, palpitation, perceptive abnormality, motorial disturbance, fever, digestive disturbance, coetaneous symptoms, and other clinical symptoms to suggest any side effects were found to be totally absent. Extensive testing was also done before and after the experiment to check functions of kidneys liver, pancreas, blood pressure, and the circulatory system. No clinical symptoms were found to indicate any side effects whatsoever.
Conclusion:
Dr. Shimodaira's conclusion of this year-long study conducted in 3 of Japan's foremost hospitals: "The magnetized health mattress pad is proved to be effective on neck and shoulder pain, back and lower back pain, back pain, lower limb pain, insomnia, and fatigue, and to have no side effects."
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Use of magnetic therapy for chronic pain.
Summary:
A Johns Hopkins pain center treatment study compared magnetic therapy for chronic pain and a placebo therapy. While some individuals in placebo therapy improved minimally, people using the magnetic therapy showed a dramatic improvement. In addition, there were no side effects from magnetic therapy, thus making it an apparently reasonable choice for those who have tried and rejected traditional therapy.
The Arthritis Solution, Joseph Kandel, M.D. and David B. Sudderth, M.D.
