Written by: Jorie Larsen Schroeder
Reviewed by: Nina Kalus, PsyD, and Yalda Safai, MD, MPH
Magnet therapy is an umbrella term covering static magnetic field products, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF), and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)
Research and evidence on the efficacy of static magnetic field products like bracelets, shoe inserts, and mattress pads is limited
TMS is the only magnetic therapy FDA-cleared to effectively treat major depressive disorder (MDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
If your patients ask about consumer magnetic therapy, it’s a useful opening to discuss TMS as a neuromodulation option
Patients often conflate consumer magnetic therapy with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). But magnetic therapy is actually an umbrella term that encompasses consumer wellness magnet products, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF), and TMS itself, including Deep TMS.
In this article, we’ll cover the different kinds of magnet therapy, their efficacy, and how to respond to patients who ask about magnet therapy.
Magnetic therapy is a loosely defined term that encompasses any treatment involving the use of magnets or magnetic fields on or around the body in order to produce a therapeutic outcome.
Magnetic therapy covers three categories with very different evidence bases.
Static magnetic field products have permanent magnets and are worn or placed on the body, and marketed for pain relief. They include wearables (magnetic bracelets, rings, and shoe inserts), body wraps, and even bedding like mattress pads and pillows.
Research on the use of static magnets for pain is extremely limited, with no conclusive evidence of their effectiveness. This category of magnetic field products is generally not evaluated by the FDA for its efficacy.
PEMF therapy uses low-level pulses of electromagnetic waves to relieve pain. Prescription devices are administered by physicians, physical therapists, or other clinicians, butover-the-counter versions are sold directly to consumers, too. The FDA has cleared or approved specific PEMF devices for certain indications, including nonunion bone fractures and post-operative pain and swelling.
A 2020 review of 21 studies of electromagnetic field therapy for musculoskeletal pain found reduced pain across several conditions, most consistently in low-back pain and knee osteoarthritis. A 2022 meta-analysis narrowed that: PEMF reduced pain in chronic low-back pain, but not acute. And overall results were mixed: fibromyalgia findings conflicted, neck pain showed no significant effect, and adding EMF to ultrasound, TENS, or hot packs conferred no benefit over those therapies alone.
TMS involves the use of a metal coil placed against a patient’s scalp that generates an electromagnetic field, which passes through the skull and into the brain to target certain regions thought to play a major role in mood control, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
It’s currently the only FDA-cleared therapy that incorporates magnetic treatment for depression.
TMS is a clinical, noninvasive form of magnetic therapy that is FDA-cleared to treat:
TMS devices generate highly concentrated, rapidly changing magnetic fields. that pass through the scalp and skull unimpeded, inducing an electrical current that activates neurons in the cortex beneath it. In treatment-resistant depression, providers target the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a region of the brain associated with mood regulation. The BrainsWay-patented H-coil is designed to deliver Deep TMS up to 6 centimeters into deeper brain structures.
“TMS is a medical neuromodulation treatment. The magnet is the tool we use to influence brain circuitry,” says Stefani LaFrenierre, MD, double board-certified psychiatrist and addiction medicine physician, and founder and director at Resiliency Mind + Body Medicine. “It isn’t the fact that something is ‘magnetic’ that makes it therapeutic.”
| Static magnet products | Pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) | Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mechanism | Produces a static, or unchanging, magnetic field; no scientifically verified mechanism of action | Device delivers pulsed electromagnetic fields that induce small electrical currents in tissue | Metal coil placed against the scalp produces rapidly changing magnetic pulses that stimulate nerve cells in targeted brain regions |
| FDA status | Most consumer products have not been reviewed nor cleared by the FDA to treat medical conditions | FDA-cleared for specific uses including nonunion bone fractures and post-operative pain and swelling relief | FDA-cleared for conditions including major depressive disorder, OCD, migraine with aura, and smoking cessation |
| Strength of evidence | Very limited | Strong for specific orthopedic uses (mentioned above) | Strongest for major depressive disorder and OCD |
| Typical use case | Magnetic bracelets, shoe inserts, mattress pads | Doctor-prescribed or over-the-counter devices | Noninvasive, outpatient treatment |
| Access | Often sold directly to consumers by online retailers and wellness companies | Prescription devices may be ordered through providers | Administered in a medical setting by trained professionals |
Dr. LaFrenierre offers practical talking points for other providers that she herself uses when a patient brings up other forms of magnet therapy.
Her view is that she never wants a patient to feel silly for asking questions. “People are constantly being marketed wellness products online, and some of the claims can sound remarkably similar to the language we use around neuromodulation,” she says.
If your patient is interested in PEMF, know that it’s FDA-cleared for very narrow uses, including nonunion bone fractures and post-operative pain relief and swelling.
“TMS is cleared for a number of brain-focused mental health conditions, but PEMF devices are only cleared for a few peripheral conditions like wound healing and physical therapy,” says Ben Spielberg, MS, PhD candidate, and founder and CEO at Solstice Training Institute. “We generally have a much better understanding of TMS than we do PEMF at this time.”
If a patient who is experiencing treatment-resistant depression or OCD and the patient brings up consumer magnetic therapy, treat it as an opening. It’s a natural bridge to discuss TMS as an evidence-backed magnetic therapy option.
“If a patient is searching for magnetic therapy, brain stimulation, or non-medication treatments, there is usually a reason, and we owe it to them to understand what they are looking for and whether TMS might be a good fit,” says Dr. LaFrenierre. “Often, these are patients who have been struggling with depression for years, have only had partial benefit from medications, are frustrated by side effects, or simply do not want the next step to always be another medication.”
Dr. LaFrenierre urges her clinical team to introduce neuromodulation therapy into the conversation early and often, noting that a referral doesn’t obligate the patient to do the treatment. She sees it as an opportunity for a patient to learn about neuromodulation, see if they’re a candidate, and make an informed decision.
“We don’t need to wait until someone has spent years cycling through treatments before we start talking about TMS,” she says.
Read more about referral guidance to see when to begin the conversation about TMS with your patients.
Magnetic therapy isn’t just one thing—it’s an umbrella term that encompasses static magnetic products, PEMF, and TMS. However, TMS is the clinically validated, FDA-cleared neuromodulation treatment that is worth knowing more about when your patients bring it up.
It depends what kind of magnetic therapy. Magnetic therapy is a broad category that encompasses static magnetic field products (including bracelets, shoe inserts, and mattress pads), as well as pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS is FDA-cleared and well-documented in its efficacy of treating major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder, among other mental health conditions.
There is no conclusive evidence on the effectiveness of static magnetic field products, including bracelets and other jewelry, shoe inserts, body wraps, and bedding.
No. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an FDA-cleared clinical treatment that involves the use of the magnets to generate a rapidly changing electromagnetic field that passes through the brain and creates an electrical current in targeted cortical tissue. By contrast, research on the use of consumer magnetic therapy, like static magnets for pain, is extremely limited.
Mostly not. An important distinction is between FDA approval and FDA clearance, and most magnetic therapies fall under the latter. Static magnetic field products (bracelets, mattress pads) are generally marketed as general wellness items, and are not evaluated by the FDA for pain treatment. Pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy devices are FDA-cleared for specific indications, including nonunion bone fractures and reduce post-operative pain and swelling. BrainsWay’s Deep TMS devices are FDA-cleared to treat major depressive disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, migraine with aura, and smoking cessation.
