*Pacemaker or implantable defibrillator: If you have a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator, use magnets cautiously. Magnetic mattresses might interfere with these devices and make them work incorrectly. Most other magnets seem to be safe if not placed within 6 inches of the device.
==Benefits and uses of Magnet Therapy are==
Even though claims that magnetic therapy can treat diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis are unfounded, there is some evidence that it may help relieve pain related to these chronic conditions:
* Nerve pain caused by diabetes (diabetic neuropathy). Wearing a shoe insole containing a particular strength (450 gauss) magnet seems to significantly reduce symptoms of burning, numbness, tingling, and foot pain caused by exercise. It takes about 3-4 months of treatment to see the benefit.
*Osteoarthritis. Wearing a magnetic bracelet of a particular strength (170-200 Tesla) for 12 weeks significantly improves pain related to osteoarthritis of the knee or hip. Wearing a magnet in a knee sleeve for 4 hours also reduces osteoarthritis-related knee pain. Other research also shows that exposure to a weak magnetic field for 48 minutes per treatment, with 8 treatments over 2 weeks, reduces knee pain significantly.
* Chronic Pelvic Pain : For a 2002 study of 32 women with chronic pelvic pain, one group of patients had active or placebo magnets applied to their abdomens for 24 hours a day. After four weeks of continuous use, those who received the active magnets reported significantly lower pain levels than at the start of the study.
* Fibromyalgia : After six weeks of sleeping on magnetized mattress pads, 13 women with fibromyalgia reported significantly less pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and next-day tiredness. A control group of 12 women (who slept on non-magnetized mattresses) had smaller improvements in pain, sleep, fatigue, and tiredness. The study's authors note that improvements in both groups might have been due to use of a better mattress pad.
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