Contributing: Jim Lassiter
Denver Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski KO's quarterbacks, then sleeps like a
baby on a magnetic mattress pad. Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu throws a wicked
split-finger fastball with dozens of magnets stuck to his body. Senior PGA Tour
golfer Jim Colbert swings for the greens with dollar bill-sized magnets strapped
to his lower back.
Magnetic therapy is the hottest trend among professional athletes. But the idea
of using magnetic fields to increase blood circulation in injured tissue and
encourage healing by stimulating the nervous system goes back thousands of
years to ancient Greece and Egypt. The original Olympic athletes might have
used magnets. And in the same way that today's top athletes influence fashion
and language, their eagerness to embrace alternative healing techniques is
influencing the public: U.S. consumers will spend more than $500 million this
year on magnetic pads, bracelets, shoe inserts, back wraps and seat cushions,
the magnet companies say. The trend is so lucrative, athletes are adding
brand-name magnets to their list of endorsements, along with sneakers and
soda pops.
Romanowski began using magnets seven years ago while a member of the
49ers but didn't take them seriously. The team trainer had recommended them,
but it was not until Romanowski had off season surgery that he adopted the
idea. "I'm a believer, definitely," he says. "The first time I tried them, I got pain
relief. It wasn't mental. I know it wasn't mental because I know my body."
Because they know their bodies, it's natural that top athletes would be attracted
to alternative therapies, says Dinnie Pearson, a Cranial-Sacral therapist with the
Mind/Body Center in King of Prussia, Pa.
"Athletes use a lot of mental imagery, visualizing the correct muscle movements
for their sport," Pearson says. "They can use that same powerful tool for
healing, contacting injured areas to focus on that tissue to help it in the natural
healing process." They had an acupuncturist travel with the team earlier this
year. The team credits the therapy with helping second baseman Quilvio Veras
get over hamstring problems. "I think it's great," Towers says. "I know it worked
on me. It blocks the nerve endings and takes the pain away. It's very relaxing.
I'd go back."
Not understanding how an alternative therapy works is no roadblock for jocks in
search of relief, but it can be for the federal government. Magnetic therapy has
not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the National
Institutes of Health are investigating the phenomenon.
The NIH Office of Alternative Medicine, which was created only five years ago, is
funding a study of magnetic therapy at the University of Virginia's School of
Nursing. Broncos safety Steve Atwater isn't waiting for the scientists to bless his
magnets. "I don't know what it is, but it works," the 30-year-old, seven-time Pro
Bowl player says. "I figure it can't hurt me, and it may help me."
Source: USA Today, Wed., Aug. 20, 1997 Section: SPORTS
Denver Broncos linebacker Bill Romanowski KO's quarterbacks, then sleeps like a
baby on a magnetic mattress pad. Yankees pitcher Hideki Irabu throws a wicked
split-finger fastball with dozens of magnets stuck to his body. Senior PGA Tour
golfer Jim Colbert swings for the greens with dollar bill-sized magnets strapped
to his lower back.
Magnetic therapy is the hottest trend among professional athletes. But the idea
of using magnetic fields to increase blood circulation in injured tissue and
encourage healing by stimulating the nervous system goes back thousands of
years to ancient Greece and Egypt. The original Olympic athletes might have
used magnets. And in the same way that today's top athletes influence fashion
and language, their eagerness to embrace alternative healing techniques is
influencing the public: U.S. consumers will spend more than $500 million this
year on magnetic pads, bracelets, shoe inserts, back wraps and seat cushions,
the magnet companies say. The trend is so lucrative, athletes are adding
brand-name magnets to their list of endorsements, along with sneakers and
soda pops.
Romanowski began using magnets seven years ago while a member of the
49ers but didn't take them seriously. The team trainer had recommended them,
but it was not until Romanowski had off season surgery that he adopted the
idea. "I'm a believer, definitely," he says. "The first time I tried them, I got pain
relief. It wasn't mental. I know it wasn't mental because I know my body."
Because they know their bodies, it's natural that top athletes would be attracted
to alternative therapies, says Dinnie Pearson, a Cranial-Sacral therapist with the
Mind/Body Center in King of Prussia, Pa.
"Athletes use a lot of mental imagery, visualizing the correct muscle movements
for their sport," Pearson says. "They can use that same powerful tool for
healing, contacting injured areas to focus on that tissue to help it in the natural
healing process." They had an acupuncturist travel with the team earlier this
year. The team credits the therapy with helping second baseman Quilvio Veras
get over hamstring problems. "I think it's great," Towers says. "I know it worked
on me. It blocks the nerve endings and takes the pain away. It's very relaxing.
I'd go back."
Not understanding how an alternative therapy works is no roadblock for jocks in
search of relief, but it can be for the federal government. Magnetic therapy has
not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the National
Institutes of Health are investigating the phenomenon.
The NIH Office of Alternative Medicine, which was created only five years ago, is
funding a study of magnetic therapy at the University of Virginia's School of
Nursing. Broncos safety Steve Atwater isn't waiting for the scientists to bless his
magnets. "I don't know what it is, but it works," the 30-year-old, seven-time Pro
Bowl player says. "I figure it can't hurt me, and it may help me."
Source: USA Today, Wed., Aug. 20, 1997 Section: SPORTS
| ATHLETES PUT THEIR FAITH IN POWER OF MAGNETS By Sal Ruibal |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |