Can Magnets restore Function

A previous article discussed how magnets, an increasingly popular alternative medicine therapy, can potentially help many ailments relevant to physical disability and spinal cord dysfunction (SCD). For example, they reportedly alleviate post-polio syndrome pain and various multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. In addition, animal research suggests that magnetism eventually will play a key role in neuronal regeneration in spinal cord injury (SCI).

In my research for the preceding articles, several references briefly mentioned Richard Hopkins, a magnetic therapist who has treated people with paralysis.

After finally locating him in Santee, California, I flew out to learn more. A burly, ebullient, 56-year old man, Hopkins has been a magnetic therapist for 35 years. He is a creative, iconoclastic, biophysicist, who at times has worked out of his garage, including on some futuristic research such as magnetically induced levitation and cold fusion. Given his overall demeanor and “science-fiction-like” endeavors, Hopkins reminded me of a stereotypic, old movie scientist.

Although not reticent when claiming how effective is treatments are, Hopkins is highly committed and zealously believes in magnets’ healing potential. For him, physical disability is personal and more than a market niche. Both his wife and 4-year old stepdaughter have cerebral palsy-like disorders requiring the use of wheelchairs. With his magnetic therapy, both have gained additional physical function.

Hopkin’s interest in magnets dates to his college sophomore year when he speculated that they could reverse cancer. He treated a patient who was scheduled to have his entire lip and lower part of jaw removed due to a malignant tumor. After week of magnetic therapy, the tumor disappeared, and the patient was released from the hospital.

Cases such as these hooked Hopkins, beginning his life-long commitment to magnetic healing. Since that time, he has treated thousands of people for cancer, injuries, and a wide range of other disorders, including a number of people with spinal cord dysfunction.

He claims these create a powerful, toroidal spinning field, which in shape resembles the earth’s magnetic field (shown next to quarter in illustration). He believes that such a field more readily resonates with nature and living things.

In a simple, yet visual, demonstration of field strength, a five-inch ring magnet was able to alter a television image from nearly two feet away. Clearly, these magnets have the potential to influence organs and physiology deep beneath the body’s surface.

Hopkins notes that because many commercially available products use relatively weak magnets, their effectiveness is questionable. For example, the magnets in many magnetic mattress pads are so weak that very little field extends beyond the intervening padding, sheets, and pajamas.

Although magnetic field effects on living systems are poorly understood, Richard’s uncomplicated, straightforward treatment philosophy is not “rocket science:” Expose the patient to as much magnetic field as possible.

To do this, he inserts or attaches his ring magnets into various clothing, devices, or harnesses that place the magnets as close as possible to specific body areas.

For spinal cord injury, Hopkins recommends that one wears a magnet-containing vest and sitting over a magnet located under the wheelchair’s seat cushion. Although a less desirable alternative, the vest often is draped over the wheelchair back when it becomes too hot or inconvenient to wear. He recommends sleeping on a mattress pad containing his ring magnets. According to Richard, such ongoing magnetic field exposure is needed if there is to be any significant functional improvement.

He believes that magnetic fields enhance neuron regeneration through a variety of biological mechanisms, including those discussed in the preceding magnetic-therapy article. In addition, he speculates that these fields stimulate stem cell migration to the injury site. These omnipotent master cells have the ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types, including function-restoring neurons.

One of Hopkin’s more dramatic success stories involved Lee, a 29-year-old man paralyzed in a construction accident. After a spinal cord blood vessel burst, he progressively lost function, including bowel and bladder control and sexual ability, and could only walk a limited distance using a walker.

Five months after injury, Hopkins began treating Lee with magnets and obtained remarkable results. After a half year of therapy, Lee regained most of his lost function. Although I did not personally talk to Lee, a physician independently confirmed his recovery.I did, however, talk to Art and Grace. Art became a C5-6 quadriplegic in a 1981 car accident. His case represents an example of the more subtle improvement that may result from magnetic therapy many years after injury.

A sports writer who recently obtained his Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, Art has used Hopkin’s ring magnets for four years and believes that he has accrued subtle, but significant, benefits from them. He feels stronger, especially in the trunk region, has new tingling sensations that seems to grow with time, and sweats more than he has since his injury nearly 20 years ago. Furthermore, MRI imaging now indicates a much more viable spinal cord.

Grace, who has spina bifida (a neural tube birth defect in which a portion of the spinal cord protrudes through the vertebral column), has been plagued with recurring pressure soars. When her last sore would not heal, she tried the magnets. Because it was the first soar that healed without surgery, she is now a believer. What further amazed Grace were some other improvements that seemed to be correlated with her magnetic therapy. Specifically, she could contract her left gluteal and thigh muscles for the first time, which, she believes, is indicative of some nerve healing. In addition, her left leg got longer with new bone growth as documented by x-rays.

Because these represent a limited number of anecdotal cases with unique circumstances, we must be careful in extrapolating the results. Although dramatic results are probably the exception, subtle improvements that can significantly affect quality of life and independence may be a real possibility (as well as demagnetizing your credit cards!).

Although requiring long-term perseverance, such magnetic therapy is a simple, straightforward, and relatively inexpensive (compared to


	Can Magnets restore Function Can Magnets Restore Function after Spinal Cord Injury or Dysfunction? Laurance Johnston, Ph.D. http://www.healingtherapies.info/ A previous article discussed how magnets, an increasingly popular alternative medicine therapy, can potentially help many ailments relevant to physical disability and spinal cord dysfunction (SCD). For example, they reportedly alleviate post-polio syndrome pain and various multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. In addition, animal research suggests that magnetism eventually will play a key role in neuronal regeneration in spinal cord injury (SCI). In my research for the preceding articles, several references briefly mentioned Richard Hopkins, a magnetic therapist who has treated people with paralysis. After finally locating him in Santee, California, I flew out to learn more. A burly, ebullient, 56-year old man, Hopkins has been a magnetic therapist for 35 years. He is a creative, iconoclastic, biophysicist, who at times has worked out of his garage, including on some futuristic research such as magnetically induced levitation and cold fusion. Given his overall demeanor and “science-fiction-like” endeavors, Hopkins reminded me of a stereotypic, old movie scientist. Although not reticent when claiming how effective is treatments are, Hopkins is highly committed and zealously believes in magnets’ healing potential. For him, physical disability is personal and more than a market niche. Both his wife and 4-year old stepdaughter have cerebral palsy-like disorders requiring the use of wheelchairs. With his magnetic therapy, both have gained additional physical function. Hopkin’s interest in magnets dates to his college sophomore year when he speculated that they could reverse cancer. He treated a patient who was scheduled to have his entire lip and lower part of jaw removed due to a malignant tumor. After week of magnetic therapy, the tumor disappeared, and the patient was released from the hospital. Cases such as these hooked Hopkins, beginning his life-long commitment to magnetic healing. Since that time, he has treated thousands of people for cancer, injuries, and a wide range of other disorders, including a number of people with spinal cord dysfunction. Ring Magnets: Richard uses ferrite ring magnets of various sizes. He claims these create a powerful, toroidal spinning field, which in shape resembles the earth’s magnetic field (shown next to quarter in illustration). He believes that such a field more readily resonates with nature and living things. In a simple, yet visual, demonstration of field strength, a five-inch ring magnet was able to alter a television image from nearly two feet away. Clearly, these magnets have the potential to influence organs and physiology deep beneath the body’s surface. Hopkins notes that because many commercially available products use relatively weak magnets, their effectiveness is questionable. For example, the magnets in many magnetic mattress pads are so weak that very little field extends beyond the intervening padding, sheets, and pajamas. Although magnetic field effects on living systems are poorly understood, Richard’s uncomplicated, straightforward treatment philosophy is not “rocket science:” Expose the patient to as much magnetic field as possible. To do this, he inserts or attaches his ring magnets into various clothing, devices, or harnesses that place the magnets as close as possible to specific body areas. For spinal cord injury, Hopkins recommends that one wears a magnet-containing vest and sitting over a magnet located under the wheelchair’s seat cushion. Although a less desirable alternative, the vest often is draped over the wheelchair back when it becomes too hot or inconvenient to wear. He recommends sleeping on a mattress pad containing his ring magnets. According to Richard, such ongoing magnetic field exposure is needed if there is to be any significant functional improvement. He believes that magnetic fields enhance neuron regeneration through a variety of biological mechanisms, including those discussed in the preceding magnetic-therapy article. In addition, he speculates that these fields stimulate stem cell migration to the injury site. These omnipotent master cells have the ability to differentiate into a variety of cell types, including function-restoring neurons. Case Studies: One of Hopkin’s more dramatic success stories involved Lee, a 29-year-old man paralyzed in a construction accident. After a spinal cord blood vessel burst, he progressively lost function, including bowel and bladder control and sexual ability, and could only walk a limited distance using a walker. Five months after injury, Hopkins began treating Lee with magnets and obtained remarkable results. After a half year of therapy, Lee regained most of his lost function. Although I did not personally talk to Lee, a physician independently confirmed his recovery.I did, however, talk to Art and Grace. Art became a C5-6 quadriplegic in a 1981 car accident. His case represents an example of the more subtle improvement that may result from magnetic therapy many years after injury. A sports writer who recently obtained his Master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, Art has used Hopkin’s ring magnets for four years and believes that he has accrued subtle, but significant, benefits from them. He feels stronger, especially in the trunk region, has new tingling sensations that seems to grow with time, and sweats more than he has since his injury nearly 20 years ago. Furthermore, MRI imaging now indicates a much more viable spinal cord. Grace, who has spina bifida (a neural tube birth defect in which a portion of the spinal cord protrudes through the vertebral column), has been plagued with recurring pressure soars. When her last sore would not heal, she tried the magnets. Because it was the first soar that healed without surgery, she is now a believer. What further amazed Grace were some other improvements that seemed to be correlated with her magnetic therapy. Specifically, she could contract her left gluteal and thigh muscles for the first time, which, she believes, is indicative of some nerve healing. In addition, her left leg got longer with new bone growth as documented by x-rays. Conclusion: Because these represent a limited number of anecdotal cases with unique circumstances, we must be careful in extrapolating the results. Although dramatic results are probably the exception, subtle improvements that can significantly affect quality of life and independence may be a real possibility (as well as demagnetizing your credit cards!). Although requiring long-term perseverance, such magnetic therapy is a simple, straightforward, and relatively inexpensive (compared to conventional medicine) treatment. At minimum, cases such as these suggest the need for further research. Contact: Anyone with current contact information for Richard Hopkins, please contact the author at laurancejohnsto@aol.com. Magnetic Healing http://www.healingtherapies.info/