Copper magnetic bracelets

[subaqua]

Saying they are placebo is not the same as saying they don't work. I doubt their mechanism, not necessarily their efficacy. If Steve finds they work for him that's great, I doubt they're doing him any harm. The placebo effect can be a wonderful, useful, powerful thing when properly harnessed.



NB. Please do not assume that my opinion in this case can be extrapolated to any other alternative medicine practices.

surely you would make the sample size smaller to claim that

 

[winjim]

surely you would make the sample size smaller to claim that

I don't follow you.

 

[subaqua]

I don't follow you.

think homeopathic

 

[Kevoffthetee]

I wear a Bioflow sport band after being recommended it by a friend for head aches. It didn't work, but sorting my diet and not sitting round stewing on my own thoughts eventually sorted the problem

I still wear the band though, just because it looks good.

 

[winjim]

think homeopathic

Sorry, I hadn't succussed enough to get the reference. Next time make it 10^6 times more subtle and I might get it.

 

[vickster]

Not if I take it off and it comes back. Before this I would say it was total nonesense. I had the same opinion about acupuncture until last year. Acupuncture was a revelation for me.

By the by. I am not flogging magnetic wristbands :0)

As explained the placebo effect is not about whether something works but whether it works for you as explained by winjim. And my post was a question not a statement in the first place!

I've had lots of acupuncture with very mixed results, most recently on my back it seemed to work well, but that could also have been due to the anti inflammatories, therapeutic ultrasound, rest etc or a combination of everything. Other treatments have had less effect, doesn't seem to help my shoulder for example, but ultrasound and trigger point massage does provide symptom relief

 

[slowmotion]

It seems to work for @steveindenmark, and that's all that matters. That's great news. Who cares why it works for him? He didn't go out of his way to peddle the product to us. I'm happy for him, even though I think the thing is cojones.

 

[Milkfloat]

The question is, now @steveindenmark knows it is a placebo will it stop working for him?

 

[steveindenmark]

Well I woke up this morning without a headache so it is still working. I have never believed in the placebo effect. If I had I would have tied a piece of string to my wrist and saved myself a tenner. But it certainly does work for me.

With regards to my experience of acupuncture last year. Overnight, I developed pain in the arches on both of my feet, it came without any warning at all. I soldiered on for a few weeks and then went to the doctor. He sent me to the pain clinic for acupuncture. Up until then acupuncture was just nonsense as far as I was concerned, but it was free, so what the hell. The first thing I was surprised at was how many people were waiting for treatment, and there was not a hippy in sight.
Secondly, how clinical it all was. No buddas or incense sticks burning, it was very professional.

The first three treatments were to get 6 needles in the hard flesh in the bottom of my both of my heels. Dont try it at home because it will make you hit the ceiling. It hurts like hell. But the treatment did nothing for me. I was then given three needles in the top of both ears which were taped in and left there for a week. There was an improvement after a week. After 4 weeks most of the pain had gone and the treatment stopped. A year later, I am back to normal.

A couple of years ago magnetic bangles and needles to cure aliments would have been total bxllxcks to me. But it appears that it can work. I was the most sceptical of sceptics but it worked for me and has relieved me of a lot of suffering.

The only reason I have brought this up is that some other sceptic may read this who is suffering from something and it may encourage them to give it a go.

Just so you all know, I am a sailmaker. But Mystic Steve's Online therapy boutique will be opening shortly.

 

[swansonj]

Yebbut sticking needles into yourself has an obvious physical effect on your nervous system. There is nothing physically implausible at the idea that stimulating certain nerves in certain ways could alter the way the brain treats the signals from other nerves (although the detailed mechanism remains unresolved afaia and the stuff about different regions of the feet corresponding to different other parts of the body is 99.9% certainly embellishment, and, as with every single medical intervention ever devised, the placebo effect and direct physical effects are not mutually exclusive). There is, however, considerable doubt as to whether there is any physical mechanism whereby a magnetic field can influence human physiology. Not all "alternative" remedies need be purely placebo effects.... but some almost certainly are.

 

[screenman]

Steve, is it possible it was the 4 weeks that helped rather than be stabbed in various places.

 

[steveindenmark]

Steve, is it possible it was the 4 weeks that helped rather than be stabbed in various places.

No I dont think so. The condition I had was called Plantar fascilitis. I have a physio friend in Northern Denmark who told me it can be a pig to cure. I had hobbled along for several weeks using massage Oil a couple of times a day. I had spent a week at home with my feet up, trying to rest them. The first few acupuncture treatments did nothing. But within a few days of getting the needles in my ears, I could feel the difference. I dont think this condition was going to go away without something being done and i didnt want to be pumped with steroids. That would have been my last course of action.

Plantar fasciitis. This is the most common cause of arch pain. Plantar fasciitis can affect the heel, arch, or both. Treatment is the same regardless of the location. For persistent plantar fasciitis, an injection with a mixture of a steroid and local anesthetic can be helpful.

Swaynsonj. Can the placebo effect take place if you are totally sceptical to begin with? I would have thought you would need some belief for it to work.

What did give acupuncture a little bit of credibility to me after a couple of visits is that they use a lot of points on the body to cure you, that I would use in Martial arts to disable you. Its a strange correlation, because I know they work in Martial arts.

 

[Padraig]

Herself had a bad fall last winter, which seems to have induced rheumatoid arthritis. It was particularly severe in the hands, especially the right one. She got a plain copper bracelet, not magnetic. We noticed that, at first, heavy deposits of verdigris accumulated on the inside of it, and needed regular cleaning off. After a while, these deposits lessened, until they stopped altogether. This suggested to me that there was some interaction between the bracelet and the skin, which altered over time. I bought her another plain copper bracelet for the left wrist. Same story. Heavy deposits of green at first, gradually diminishing. And the first bracelet did seem to have a beneficial effect, although this could just be coincidence. One note of caution, though. The second bracelet, from a well-known pharmacy chain, was lacquered on the inside. I had to clean this off before it would cut down with polish. How it was supposed to have any effect with a lacquered inner surface, I don't know.

 

[winjim]

IIRC there is a compound in sweat which chelates Cu, facilitating transport through the skin.

 

[davdandy]

maybe, but apparently copper is supposed to be good for joint pain . one place i don't get any is in my fingers. being as i am a spark and am holding fairly pure copper in my hands most days there may be something in it.

it could also however be utter cobblers.

Utter rubbish i`m afraid.I am a plumber and obviuosly worked with copper all my life.Yet i have pain all over my body,back,knees,feet,shoulders.Nah,waste of time.Not sure about magnets though.