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MAGNETS ATTRACTING HEALTH-CARE ATTENTION
By Emily Gest, Daily News Staff Writer
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Who knows who would be sporting magnets now if Hideki Irabu had lived up to his $12.8
million billing.
The long-sleeve shirt that the former Yankees pitcher wore concealed the newest craze
among health and body-conscious Westerners: dozens of small magnets taped to his
wrists, arms, chest and back at pressure points. And even though they didn't seem to
work for Irabu, the idea behind the magnets is simple, if unproven: They stimulate
magnetic fields in the body, improving circulation, and promoting faster healing and
general good health. Magnets have been popular in Japan for two or three decades, said
Hirofumi Murabayashi, a spokesman for the Japanese Consulate. "They are usually
available at most ordinary drug stores without any prescription," he said. Kota Ishijima,
Irabu's translator, says the ball-player has sported magnets for several years. "He
changes [their position] every day, according to where he feels stresses within his body,"
Ishijima said. "It is supposed to relieve microscopic muscular tension and opens
microscopic blood vessels for better blood flow."
Sean P. Gallagher, a physical therapist at Performing Arts Physical Therapy in
Manhattan, said he often uses magnets in conjunction with accupressure points on the
body to relieve soreness and swelling. Few scientific studies have been conducted to
show how or whether magnets work, but two major universities are planning them.
Dr. Steven Abramson, chairman of the department of rheumatology and medicine at the
Hospital of Joint Diseases in Manhattan, says that animal research shows that "by
altering magnetic fields, you can alter blood flow or reduce the amount of inflammation by
blocking the movement of inflamed cells." Magnets are not approved by the Food and
Drug Administration. Dr.Alan Steiner of Denville, N.J., who calls himself a holistic dentist,
said he doubted the medicinal benefits of magnets when he heard about them from a
patient two years ago. Then he tried them. "I was told I had arthritis in the neck, and I don't
have it anymore," he said. Steiner now offers magnets to patients who suffer from
migraine headaches or TMJ (temporomandibullar joint disorder), a painful jaw problem,
and is a distributor for a California magnet company. Whether magnets have physical
benefits remains an open question, but there is some evidence of how they may work.
"We need really good scientific inquiry, not just into clinical improvement, but long term,
20 or 30 years later," said Dr. Patricia Muehsam, who studies bioelectric magnetics at
Mount Sinai Medical Center. "The body is exquisitely sensitive, even to weak
electromagnetic fields; even one weaker than a hair dryer can affect enzymes in a test
tube."
Source: NY Daily News, Aug. 3, 1997
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