Effectiveness Of Magnetic Therapy Products
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To be effective, a magnetic therapy product must produce a magnetic field of sufficient strength and size at the site of the injury or affected area. The problem is that the strength of a magnetic field drops off rapidly as the distance from the magnet increases, and an injured area can be several inches below the surface of the skin. If the product is not properly designed, the field could easily drop below therapeutic levels before it even reaches the injury site, and the product would then be ineffective.
Companies that provide insufficient product information, and incorrectly use the gauss rating of magnets to indicate the strength of their products compound the problem. The manufacturer's gauss rating of a magnet indicates the amount of magnetic energy (residual induction) that the magnetic material can hold, but alone is not an indication of the strength of the magnet.
Since the gauss rating is identical for all magnets made of the same material, regardless of the size or number of magnets, products using smaller and fewer numbers of magnets are made to appear more effective than they really are.
To be therapeutically effective, a magnetic field must penetrate the injured area at a high enough gauss strength. There is no way to tell if the magnetic field is strong enough just by knowing the gauss rating of the magnets.
The mass (surface area and thickness) of the magnets, the number of magnets, the polarity facing the body and the gauss rating of the magnets used, all determine the strength and penetration depth of the magnetic field produced by a magnetic therapy product.
 All magnetic therapy products are not the same. Most products on the market use magnets that are either too small, or insufficient in number and strength to provide any real benefit. The polarity of the magnets is also a very important issue. Many products contain magnets that are facing the wrong way (the south or positive polarity is facing the body), which can increase, rather than ease discomfort. There are also products that are improperly using bipolar (both poles on the same surface) magnets in products such as mattress pads, which is completely against recommended protocols and can cause increased discomfort.
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