Therapy for Healthy

There are over 100 forms of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. These diseases may cause pain, stiffness, and swelling in joints and other supporting structures of the body such as muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones. Some forms can also affect other parts of the body, including various internal organs.

Many people use the word “arthritis” to refer to all rheumatic diseases. However, the word literally means joint inflammation; that is, swelling, redness, heat, and pain caused by tissue injury or disease in the joint. The many different kinds of arthritis make up just a portion of all rheumatic diseases.

Rheumatoid arthritis, the second most common form of arthritis, affects other parts of the body besides the joints. It begins at a younger age than osteoarthritis, causes swelling and redness in joints, and may make people feel sick, tired, and (uncommonly) feverish. Rheumatoid arthritis affects people differently. For some people, it lasts only a few months or a year or two and goes away without causing any noticeable damage. Other people have mild or moderate forms of the disease, with periods of worsening symptoms, called flares, and periods in which they feel better, called remissions. Still others have a severe form of the disease that is active most of the time, lasts for many years or a lifetime, and leads to serious joint damage and disability.

Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, especially among older people. Sometimes it is called degenerative joint disease or osteoarthrosis.
Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that mostly affects the cartilage. Cartilage is the slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones in a joint. Healthy cartilage allows bones to glide over one another. It also absorbs energy from the shock of physical movement. In osteoarthritis, the surface layer of cartilage breaks down and wears away. This allows bones under the cartilage to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and loss of motion of the joint. Over time, the joint may lose its normal shape. Also, bone spurs(small growths called osteophytes) may grow on the edges of the joint. Bits of bone or cartilage can break off and float inside the joint space. This causes more pain and damage. People with osteoarthritis usually have joint pain and limited movement. Unlike some other forms of arthritis, osteoarthritis affects only joints and not internal organs.

Magnetic treatments for arthritis

All types of arthritis respond to magnetic treatments because the arthritic disease process involves inflammation. Magnets reverse the inflammatory process, which in turn alleviates the main symptoms of arthritis which are:

1.Swelling

2.Pain

3.Stiffness and immobility

Magnetic therapy is not a cure for arthritis as there is currently no known cure, but it is an extremely effective drug free treatment for the chronic symptoms for all types of arthritic conditions.

However having said how well arthritis responds to magnetic therapy, it can be a little bit tricky to treat a person who has arthritis in multiple locations in the body. The reason for this is that as discussed in chapter 2 for the magnetic field to be effective it must be placed as close to the area of injury as possible. When a person has, for example, arthritis in the knees, hips, back and hands, it is not possible to reach all the area with one magnetic device. The person would need to place magnets on each area of pain to fully relieve the arthritic symptoms.

Possible treatments for this person would be:

1. To wear high strength magnetic straps around the knees, back/hips ( usually one strap will reach both areas) and wrists. Straps are both functional and comfortable, plus many contain lycra to give the joint additional support.
2. To wear super strength shoe insoles, that have a magnetic field that is strong enough to reach the knees, a high/super a strength bracelet for each hand and use a magnetic pad behind the back whilst sitting or lying. If the person does not feel comfortable in straps these are suitable alternatives.
3. To sleep on a magnetic mattress. The mattress will reach all areas of the body at once and the strength of the magnetic field is so immense that the magnetism will last for up to 16 hours after getting out of bed. This is the easiest way to treat large areas of pain and does not necessitate the need to wear additional magnets during the day.

Luckily there is a vast array of magnetic devices available today and most areas of the body can be reached with an appropriate magnetic device. There is often more than one solution available fort he treatment of multiple areas of pain and a trained therapist will be able to advise while treatment regime will fit best with your particular lifestyle.

In order for magnets to be effective they must be worn night and day until the symptoms have gone, if you are given a magnetic device that do not feel comfortable wearing or using it is unlikely that you will continue to use the treatment for the required length of time. With out 24 hours, 7 days a weeks exposure to the magnets it is unlikely that all of your symptoms will be relieved and you will feel disheartened and may even believe that magnets do not in fact work.

Debbie Shimadry is qualified magnetic therapist and pain nurse specialist. She appears on several BBC radio stations as an expert guest on magnetic therapy and is also the managing director of leading magnetic therapy company worldofmagnets.co.uk. To find out more on how magnetic therapy can help you, visit magnetictherapyfacts.org

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What is Sciatica?

The longest nerve in your body, the sciatic nerve runs from your pelvis through your hip area and buttocks and down each leg. It divides into the tibial and peroneal nerves at the level of your knees. The sciatic nerve controls many of the muscles in your lower legs and provides feeling to your thighs, legs and feet.

The term sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of this nerve, from your back into your buttock and leg. The discomfort can range from mild to incapacitating, and may be accompanied by tingling, numbness or muscle weakness. Rather than a disorder in and of itself sciatica is a symptom of another problem that puts pressure on the nerve.

What are the signs and symptoms of Sciatica?

Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. You may feel the discomfort almost anywhere along the nerve pathway, but it’s especially likely to follow one of these routes:
From your lower back to your knee.
From the mid buttock to the outside of your calf, the top of your foot and into the space between your last two toes.

From the inside of your calf to your inner ankle and sole.

The pain can vary widely, from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation or excruciating discomfort. Sometimes it may feel like a jolt or electric shock. Sciatic pain often starts gradually and intensifies over time. It’s likely to be worse when you sit, cough or sneeze. Usually only one lower extremity is affected.

In addition to pain, you may also experience:
Numbness or muscle weakness along the nerve pathway in your leg or foot. In some cases, you may have pain in one part of your leg and numbness in another.

Tingling or a pins-and-needles feeling. This occurs most commonly in your toes or part of your foot.

A loss of bladder or bowel control. This is a sign of cauda equina syndrome, a rare but serious condition that requires emergency care. If you experience either of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately.

Magnetic therapy for sciatica.

Sciatica can resolve by itself but this can take many weeks or even months. You can however quite rapidly reduce the symptoms of sciatica with magnets. As with all magnetic therapy treatments, the magnets have to be placed as close to the area of pain as possible, this will be the lower (lumbar) region of the back. Even though you may have pain down your legs or in your buttocks the cause is still in the lower back. When you treat the back area and the sciatica resolves then the pain running down the leg and buttocks will also dissipate.

There are really only 2 magnetic therapy devices that are effective in treating sciatica:

1.A magnetic therapy back strap or support. The functional straps and supports can be placed directly over the area of pain. If the sciatica is very low in the back then a narrow strap will be more practical and altogether more comfortable than a wide support, as it fits snugly around the hip area and will stay over the compressed nerve. A wider support is effective if the sciatic pain is higher and nearer to the waist area. As with all magnets the straps/supports need to be worn for 24 hours and 7 days a week until the pain has gone.

2.A Magnetic therapy pillow pad. If for any reason what so ever you cannot wear a back belt or support the only alternative is to use a pad placed under your back in bed at night. It can also be used during the day when sitting or lying down (even in the car). You will not have 24 hours 7 day a week exposure to the magnets but if you cannot wear a strap this is an acceptable alternative as long as it is used every might when the body is at its most receptive to magnetic healing.

When magnetic therapy is used in-conjunction with deep penetrating massage and cold/ice therapy, the symptoms of sciatica can be resolved in just a few days. Massage will relax the muscles that have gone into spasm around the trapped nerve, the cold or ice will help reduce the inflammation and heat around the injury and both of these will prepare the tissues and muscles, so that the magnetic field can penetrate more quickly into the damaged area. Massage and ice therapy can be used 3-4 times a day for approximately 10 minutes at a time.

Debbie Shimadry is qualified magnetic therapist and pain nurse specialist. She appears on several BBC radio stations as an expert guest on magnetic therapy and is also the managing director of leading magnetic therapy company worldofmagnets.co.uk. To find out more on how magnetic therapy can help you, visit magnetictherapyfacts.org.

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Historically it is reported that magnets have been around for an extremely long time. Magnets were first documented around 2500-3000 years BC. Magnets have been used in Chinese medicine from around 2000 BC in-conjunction with reflexology and acupuncture. It is still used today as a first line treatment for many common complaints. However the last 15 years has shown a prolific increase in medical research into magnetic therapy. There have been over 57 studies in the USA into incurable diseases and magnetics.

Science has discovered that a magnetic field over and around the point of pain increases blood flow in the effected area. The blood contains iron and when therapeutic magnets are placed on the skin the magnetic field penetrates through the skin and into the surrounding tissues and blood stream. The iron in the blood is attracted to the magnetic field, this causes movement within the blood stream and the increased activity causes the blood flow to improve. This increased blood flow carries with it greater quantities of oxygen, vital nutrients, and especially endorphins which relieve and soon remove and alleviate the pain.

When static magnets are placed over an area of inflammation, the magnetic field penetrates through the skin and deep into the tissues and blood stream. Damaged cells will react to the presence of a magnetic field by realigning their ions into the correct position. This begins the process of eliminating the excess fluid from within the cell. Cell damage will stop and healing of the cells will begin over a period of days. In real terms the effects of these magnets will reduce pain and discomfort in and around the area that they are placed.

The truth is, magnets need to be placed directly over the area of pain to have an effect. Unfortunately you can not treat the whole of your body with just one magnet. Magnets do not block the pain signal. They work on the cause of the pain, which is why static magnets have to placed as close to the point of pain as possible. In short, wherever your pain is located you must place the magnets within that area or the very close proximity.

The pain reducing effects will remain for as long as the magnets remain in place, thus reducing the need for other analgesics.

Best of all, magnets are natural, contain no drugs or chemicals and have no known side effects. Magnets leave a lasting and deeply beneficial reduction of painful symptoms for 82% of users that will stay with them for as long as they continue to use them.

Research studies have shown magnets to be effective in 82% of cases and have demonstrated benefits in the following conditions:

Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Spondylosis, Fibromyalgia, general joint pain, muscular pain, M.S., stroke, insomnia, migraine, stress, depression, bowel disorders, Diabetes, high blood pressure and poor circulation.

Debbie Shimadry is qualified magnetic therapist and pain nurse specialist. She appears on several BBC radio stations as an expert guest on magnetic therapy and is also the managing director of leading magnetic therapy company worldofmagnets.co.uk. To find out more on how magnetic therapy can help you, visit magnetictherapyfacts.org.

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