“Electromagnetism is the real energy of life, and therefore it is very plausible that all sorts of magnetic and electrical interventions will be useful for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. But there is a market for countless quack magnetic devices exploiting this popular appeal. You can buy what are essentially refrigerator magnets to strap to your elbow or knee, or put in your shoe or under your pillow. These static magnetic fields have no demonstrable effect on blood flow or living tissue, and their fields are so shallow they barely extend beyond the cloth in which they are encased, let alone to any significant tissue depth. And the scientific evidence for efficacy is negative. Even more absurd are magnetic bracelets that are supposed to have a remote healing effect on the body. Plausibility plummets even further. The lack of a tight relationship between scientific evidence and academic acceptance of medical claims on one hand, and the marketing and popular appeal of those claims on the other – is eternally frustrating. This disconnect appears to be especially true for claims for magnetic devices and treatments – a disconnect that has survived for centuries.” Steven Novella, MD, Skeptic Blog (14th June 2010)