Having recently suffered a sore muscle in my left wrist I thought I’d pass on one my favorite home remedies for aches and pains.A magnet taped over the area that hurt eased the discomfort and made it possible to keep practicing for short periods if I rested for as long as I played{3 to 5 minuets}.Magnets sold at Radio Shack work as well as “medical magnets” and are a lot cheaper.I prefer magnets that have the north pole on one side and the south pole on the other.In this configuration the common practice is to use the side of the magnet that attracks the north side of a compass needle- this is the magnets north pole. Some medical magnet companies sell magnets with both poles on the same side{ such as Nikken }.I have had good results with these also.My wrists tend to be stiff from surgery for DeQuervains disease ten or twelve years ago and if on that odd occasion that they are sore, wearing a magnet over night solves the problem. Never having had carpel tunnel or any RSI problems I’ve wondered if magnets would be of any use for those problems.
Non-technical note for those who have seen all the inflated claims for magnetic therapy in the popular press:The medical magnet industry IS full of snake oil. But there are legitimate uses for their use in medicine. The increasing use in veteranarian medicine is indicative.A horse knows nothing of the placebo affect.
From the underground laboratory of the local mad scientist,
Bruce
A couple of years ago, I had a wrist pain that wasn’t getting better with time.
I purchased a magnetic bracelet. It had several magnets sewn in its soft fabric. There was a choice of how the magnets were arranged polarity-wise. I think I purchased it from Doug Tipple, who sells Irish flutes on eBay.
In less than a month, the pain was gone, and hasn’t returned. I don’t know whether to attribute the cure to the magnets, the warmth that the bracelet provided to the sore wrist, or a psychological interaction.
Bill
[ This Message was edited by: SuiZen on 2003-02-26 12:07 ]