Magnets Attract Big Bucks
The rising popularity of magnetic therapy pulls in serious looks from entrepreneurs, pain sufferers, and critics alike.
Looking for a great business idea? Take a peak at the lucrative market of the magnetic therapy trade.
Estimates say the sales of magnets in the US approached a whopping $150 million way back in 1999 and have continued to increase exponentially year after year, according to Ashley Jude Collie's report.
Sources say that worldwide sales of magnetic products have now reached a little over the billion dollar mark and are still climbing rapidly. Collie, a foreign correspondent of the Washington Post, stated that the growing industry has been producing all sorts of magnetic products; from bracelets, necklaces, rings, insoles, back braces, etc. They are available in doctors' clinics, in health stores, vitamin stores, drug stores, and in golf and sporting-goods stores.
Magnetic therapy is a type of alternative medicine. When magnets are placed over the body, the magnetic field they emit may have healing powers. Some say that magnets can help broken bones heal faster, improve blood circulation, but most of the tribute comes from those who claim that magnets relieve pain.
One of its biggest advocates is 64-year-old Jim Colbert, an all-time top veteran golfer on the Senior PGA Tour, with earnings of more than $1 million in 1998. He didn't enjoy success until he began wearing magnets to relieve his chronic back pain years ago. "I've had back problems since I was fifteen," says Colbert. "I thought I was going to have a very short career. But wearing magnets around my waist while I play has kept my back from hurting, and I've been able to play quite well. They've really been a career saver."
Testimonials also come from the physically-intense world of professional football, where Miami Dolphins director of rehabilitation Ryan Vermillion treats at least half of the players with magnets, including quarterback, Dan Marino. When the star player was recovering from a broken ankle six years ago, Vermillion recommended Marino to strap on some magnets. The area healed quicker than expected, and Marino missed only two games instead of much of the season. I think it was a combination of good surgery on a healthy athlete and the magnets," Vermillion says of Marino's quick recuperation.
Western medicine once treated acupuncture with skepticism. Nowadays, the ancient Chinese art is widely accepted as a treatment for many things. Many see magnetic therapy heading in the same direction. For now, it remains the latest and most promising remedy in the alternative healthcare industry as evident from the growing number of businesses specializing in magnetic therapy or adding magnetic bracelets to their existing line.
There are no bad side effects from using magnetic bracelets. A former factory worker, Howard Ray, who now owns several health outlets in Montana selling magnetic products, said his business began when he first tried magnetic bracelets as an alternative therapy for his arthritis. "I have always had a lot of pain in my legs, arms and hands and tried almost every kind of pain killer out there," said 56-year old Ray, "There was only temporary relief whenever I take them pills. But then, a friend of mine gave me a magnetic bracelet as a gift one day and ever since that day, I have only experienced brief discomfort from time to time."
Word of his wonderful discovery quickly spread to his family and friends and they also wanted one for themselves. Soon, many people had been asking him where he got the magnetic bangles from. So, Ray decided to try selling the bracelets himself with his retirement money. He recalled when he first started out; he erected booths showcasing the bracelets at tradeshows and flea markets. "One thing I like about the bracelets is that they fit into a small space, they don't require bulky displays," Ray added.
"Also, it's important that you indicate how strong the magnet is since the stronger it is, the deeper the penetration of the magnetic field will be. That's why on every package I sell you will see the strength of the magnet printed." He said it's a good thing that he stumbled into this business because aside from making money you help people with their chronic pain.
So how do magnets help the body heal faster and better? The use of magnets as a therapeutic device has always been around since the time of the some of the greatest ancient civilizations existed - Greek, Egyptian, Chinese, and Indian. The Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, for example, was curiously fascinated with magnets and their mysterious effect in bodily functions, as was the Egyptian Queen, Cleopatra, who wore elaborate jewelry with magnets imbedded in them in the belief that the magnets would promote her health and maintain her beauty.
Throughout ancient history, alchemists and physicians have been studying the therapeutic properties of magnets. But it is only in recent years that scientists have gathered enough data to prove that magnets, indeed, help the body heal.
Magnets work by exerting magnetic fields measured in units of strength called gauss, the higher the gauss, the stronger the magnet. Therapeutic magnets usually range from 200 to 3000 gauss. Magnets may reduce inflammation and relieve pain by increasing blood flow either to a diseased site or within the entire body. This, in turn, increases the availability of nutrients to accelerate the body's own healing process.
When magnets are used for mending fractures, for instance, it is said that an unusually large amount of calcium ions adhere to the blood clot at the site of the break. This aids in the speedy formation of the callus that is necessary for healing in fractures.
Numerous clinical trials from Europe and the U.S. also showed magnets' healing ability. Patients suffering from diabetic foot pain, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's have also reaped the benefits of magnetic therapy. Magnetic therapy has also been effective to help the body flush out waste at an efficient rate, thus eliminating the buildup of toxins. It positively alters metabolic functions, removes excess acid in the tissues, and increases joint mobility-all by improving blood circulation. Energy levels shoot up, sleep is better, and mental functions are enhanced according to these studies.
The most famous study done on magnets was performed at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine in 1997. A double-blind study - neither the doctors nor the patients knew who was given the placebo - showed that seventy-six percent of post-polio patients who wore magnets had less pain.
The January 1999 issue of the American Journal of Pain Management reported on another double-blind study that said small magnets could reduce the severe pain of diabetic neuropathy, nerve damage produced as a side effect of diabetes. "Lab research at New York's Mount Sinai Medical Center has demonstrated that when you tear tissue, magnets can promote the healing of the tissue by increasing the level of phosphorylization," Dr. Bakst points out.
"It has also been shown that at a bone fracture site, placement of powerful magnets causes increased levels of alkaline phosphatase, which increases osteoblastic activity. This aids in the healing of bone and the Food and Drug Administration has actually approved an electromagnetic product to help in the healing of difficult fractures. It has also been used in the treatment of burns and bruises, especially post operative bruising."
Recently, a study in the British Medical Journal found magnetic bracelets reduce the pain in osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School recruited patients aged between 45 and 80 years with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee from five rural general practices in Devon.
Patients wore either a standard strength magnetic bracelet, a weak magnetic bracelet, or a non-magnetic dummy bracelet for 12 weeks. Changes in pain were recorded using a recognized pain scoring scale.
They found a significant reduction in pain scores between the standard and dummy magnet groups. The results for the weak magnet group were similar to those of the dummy magnets, and this suggests that the magnetic strength of the bracelet is important. They note that high strength magnets (170mTesla or more) seem to be needed.
The researchers emphasize that the benefits are in addition to existing treatments, which should not be suddenly stopped without discussion with their doctor.
Further evidence suggesting magnetic energy's importance in the body was also noted in space. When Russian cosmonauts experienced space sickness after spending long periods of time aboard the Mir space station, scientists theorized that they had spent too much time away from the earth's magnetic forces.
In the U.S. it was called chronic fatigue syndrome. The Japanese called it a "magnetic deficiency syndrome." After a magnetic generator was installed in the space station, the cosmonauts' mood and health improved dramatically.
In experiments by NASA, rats that were not given enough magnetic field intensity in space died and it was believed to be due to their energy flow being disrupted.
Today, countries like Russia and Australia are starting to unravel the advantages of magnetic therapy. In Japan, magnets have even become licensed medical devices. Although this has not happened yet globally, many health practitioners are now recommending magnetic therapy to their patients as an adjunct, or in minor cases as a substitute, to prescribed medications.
It is safe to say that magnetic therapy has boomed in the last decade, as people all over the world attest to their efficacy. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the type and strength of magnets used in magnetic therapy pose no health risks.
However, people fitted with a pacemaker, insulin pump, and other implanted medical devices should not use magnetic therapy as it will interfere with the mechanisms and electronic signals.
And despite numerous and vehement criticisms, magnets are touted to be the alternative choice by many chiropractors and other pain specialists. With this in mind, now is the best time to consider investing in the magnetic therapy business before it becomes mainstream.