|
Bodybuilders who want to remain drug-free but still build a champion's physique are constantly in search of safe, natural methods to do so, Nutritional supplements have certainly helped elevate the sport, as have better diets. One new tool being increasingly used to improve recovery from hard training and reduce the discomfort of injury is the static magnet. The magnetic strips or discs now sold via network marketing, infomercials, and mail order and through stores come in all sorts of products from joint supports to seat cushions. Some are designed to be placed directly on an aching bodypart.
The subject of magnets in health is controversial. Most of the 'proof' that magnets help speed recovery from training and allow muscles and connective tissue to heal faster has come from the personal experiences of athletes and non-athletes alike. Their testimonies about the beneficial, sometimes miraculous, effects from magnets are encouraging and shouldn't be discounted, yet fall short of scientific proof. Those who oppose the use of static magnets believe they're nothing more than medieval witchcraft revised for the '90s. Do magnets really work, or are they just like snake oil? Let's look at the evidence.
The science behind static magnets
Unlike an electromagnet, which sends electrical currents artificially through conducting coils to create the magnetic fields, a static magnet has a built-in permanent magnetic field that never needs replenishing. Examples of static magnets are those used to stick notes to a refrigerator door, a grade-school horseshoe magnet and a magnetic compass. All magnets have a north and south polarity and either attract or repel. North repels north, north attracts south, and south repels south. Reports indicate that through the magnets' natural effect on charged particles in the blood, they help vessels expand, allowing a larger quantity of nutrient-rich blood to flow into an area for faster healing and growth. Blood is an electrical conductor, and electrolytes are compounds that can carry electric currents within the body via the movement of ions such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. When these ions with their positive and negative charges pass by a magnetic field, a separation of ions occurs.
According to a recognized expert on biomagnetism, Ted Zablotsky, MD, new research over the past five years has pointed to three specific actions of static magnets on blood vessels. "First, we've seen a slight liberation of heat as the ions separate. Second, the ions criss-cross back and forth between north and south poles of the magnet. Third, small eddy currents occur in the blood stream, just as the eddy currents in a river push the banks outward. These effects collectively contribute to widening the blood vessels to allow more blood to pass through," he says.
All magnets are not created equal
Most magnets in use today are inefficient, which may be why magnet users have reported mixed results. As more research is conducted, static magnets may yet prove to be the new recovery tool of the 1990s and beyond, but beware - not all magnets are created equal. Choose the wrong type and you'll get little or no benefit.
While any static magnet, even the horseshoe type you played with as a kid, may influence blood flow, the design of the magnet determines just how great the effects are. The force of the magnet and how far this force penetrates into muscle tissue are the key factors.
The strength of a magnet can be measured in gauss. For example, The magnetic field of the Earth is less than 10 gauss, while the magnets discussed in this article usually fall between 300 and 500 gauss. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), used in medicine to view structures inside the body, introduces a strong magnetic field in excess of 10,000 gauss.
Though the strength of the magnet is important, two magnets with exactly the same strength can perform differently. Ordinary bar magnets that use standard parallel alternating north and south poles aren't the most efficient at penetrating muscle tissue, even if their gauss rating is high. Standard magnets are maximally effective only if the blood passes directly perpendicular to them; they're less influential if the blood vessel crosses at an angle or runs parallel to the magnet's poles.
The most effective magnet design is one using concentric circles of alternating polarity. The concentric design allows for the maximal penetration to, and action on, the capillaries bringing blood to muscle tissues in almost any direction the capillary travels. When tested with a gauss-meter placed a quarter of an inch away, the 'magnetic reach' from the concentric-circle magnet is approximately double that of a checkerboard pattern, and much greater than the standard bar-type magnet. The concentric-circle magnet has more magnetic field lines to spare, which can then penetrate the muscle tissue and make contact with ions within the blood vessels to cause an increase in blood flow.
|