Magnetic Insoles May Not Ease Foot Pain
Magnetic Insoles May Not Ease Foot Pain
Insole Cushioning -- Not Magnets -- May Help, Study Shows
Sept. 29, 2005 -- Magnetic insoles may not be better at easing chronic foot pain than insoles without magnets, a new study shows.
Cushioning from insoles -- with or without magnets -- may have helped somewhat, write Mark Winemiller, MD, and colleagues in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Winemiller works at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He and his team studied about 80 adults with chronic, nonspecific foot pain.
Though magnetic insoles didn't show an advantage in this study, the researchers don't downplay foot pain.
"Findings confirmed that nonspecific foot pain significantly interferes with some employees' ability to enjoy their jobs and that treatment of that pain improves job satisfaction," they write.
Patients who took part in the study were asked to wear magnetic or fake-magnetic cushioned insoles for at least four hours daily, four days per week, for eight weeks. They didn't know if their insoles contained real magnets or not. None of the participants were people with inflammation of the tendons of the arc of the foot or a foot pain from nerve damage.
Patients rated their foot pain at the study's start, midpoint, and end. No significant foot pain differences were seen between the two groups.
For instance, four weeks into the study, about a third of both groups reported being "all better" or "mostly better" in terms of their foot pain. The figures were similar at the end of the eight-week study.
Patients were asked to rate how much their foot pain interfered with their enjoyment of their jobs. Foot pain had a "notably negative effect," write the researchers.
Patients who wore real magnetic insoles showed a bit more improvement in job enjoyment, but the difference wasn't significant, write the researchers.
Nine out of 10 people wore their insoles as instructed four weeks into the study. By the study's end, that number had dipped to eight out 10 participants.
No side effects were reported from either type of insole.
However, 26% of those wearing the fake-magnetic insoles and 11% of those wearing real magnetic insoles reported problems with the insoles.
Almost all of those problems were tightness within the shoe or cosmetic breakdown of a colored lining on the insole surface, write the researchers.
Magnetic Insoles May Not Ease Foot Pain
Insole Cushioning -- Not Magnets -- May Help, Study Shows
Sept. 29, 2005 -- Magnetic insoles may not be better at easing chronic foot pain than insoles without magnets, a new study shows.
Cushioning from insoles -- with or without magnets -- may have helped somewhat, write Mark Winemiller, MD, and colleagues in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
Winemiller works at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He and his team studied about 80 adults with chronic, nonspecific foot pain.
Though magnetic insoles didn't show an advantage in this study, the researchers don't downplay foot pain.
"Findings confirmed that nonspecific foot pain significantly interferes with some employees' ability to enjoy their jobs and that treatment of that pain improves job satisfaction," they write.
Similar Results With Real, Fake Magnetic Insoles
Patients who took part in the study were asked to wear magnetic or fake-magnetic cushioned insoles for at least four hours daily, four days per week, for eight weeks. They didn't know if their insoles contained real magnets or not. None of the participants were people with inflammation of the tendons of the arc of the foot or a foot pain from nerve damage.
Patients rated their foot pain at the study's start, midpoint, and end. No significant foot pain differences were seen between the two groups.
For instance, four weeks into the study, about a third of both groups reported being "all better" or "mostly better" in terms of their foot pain. The figures were similar at the end of the eight-week study.
Hampering Job Enjoyment
Patients were asked to rate how much their foot pain interfered with their enjoyment of their jobs. Foot pain had a "notably negative effect," write the researchers.
Patients who wore real magnetic insoles showed a bit more improvement in job enjoyment, but the difference wasn't significant, write the researchers.
Nine out of 10 people wore their insoles as instructed four weeks into the study. By the study's end, that number had dipped to eight out 10 participants.
No Side Effects Noted
No side effects were reported from either type of insole.
However, 26% of those wearing the fake-magnetic insoles and 11% of those wearing real magnetic insoles reported problems with the insoles.
Almost all of those problems were tightness within the shoe or cosmetic breakdown of a colored lining on the insole surface, write the researchers.
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