Copper Bracelets, Magnetic Wrist Straps Useless?

Coming via Science Daily a new randomised controlled study finds that copper bracelets and magnetic wrist straps for pain management are a useless waste of money and only engender the placebo effect. People buy them when the pain is at it's worse and then attribute the regression to the mean and the subsequent reduction in pain to the device but there is no difference in response to bracelets that don't contain copper or are not magnetic.

This quote from the researchers is worth highlighting because it's just priceless:

“Although their use is generally harmless, people with osteoarthritis should be especially cautious about spending large sums of money on magnet therapy. Magnets removed from disused speakers are much cheaper, but you would first have to believe that they could work.”