For that reason, proponents say they should be worn all the time. After all, one cannot overdose on magnetic energy, according to Dr. Alvin Bakst, the onetime chief of heart surgery at New York City's Flower-Fifth Avenue Hospital, who is now in the magnet therapy business in Palm Springs. Fifteen years ago, when it was suggested you could use a magnetic field to diagnose illness within the body, the notion was pooh-poohed. Magnets should not be used by people with a pacemaker, or surgically implanted metal pins or screws, he added. They are also not recommended for pregnant women.
Magnets are man-made, with either a ceramic or neodymium housing.
The latter are considered the best, and come from mainland China. In any casing, the magnetic energy can be controlled as to its positive and negative charge, and the amount of each, which is called a Gauss rating. The higher the Gauss, the stronger the magnet. The most prominent argument for magnetic-pain therapy is the elimination or deep reduction in the use of painkiller drugs.