Magnetised insoles ineffective to relieve foot pain

Magnetised insoles do not have greater pain-easing effects than similar insoles that don't contain magnets. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota found that there is conflicting evidence on whether magnets have pain-relieving powers. Nevertheless, consumers worldwide have spent about $5 billion on magnetized devices touted as pain treatment. Researchers analysed 83 health care employees who had suffered nonspecific foot pain for at least the past 30 days. They made them wear magnetic insoles or insoles that didn't contain magnets for eight weeks. The magnetic strength of the insoles tested in the study was comparable to other magnetized insoles commercially available. Study participants were asked to use the insoles at least four hours a day for four days each week, and were not told which type of insole they were using. There was no difference in pain between people wearing the magnetized insoles and those wearing the sham-magnetic version, but there was some placebo effect. Fifty-six percent of patients who said that they believed that magnets could relieve pain reported feeling all better or mostly better, regardless of which type of insoles they were actually using, compared with 26 percent of those who didn't say they believed in magnets' pain-fighting potential. But because of the small number of patients who said they believed magnets could help, the difference was not statistically significant. Understanding the placebo effect on pain more fully could help doctors include it in pain management, where it could enhance the effectiveness of real treatments.