Just wondering if they are worth a go has anyone had any experience of them?
My mums old dog is getting very stiff now and she,s thinking of trying them.
I just think they are a bit pricey if they don,t work.

I used one on one of my girls from around 7 years til she was 12.  Definately helped her, they do suggest if that if you are not sure whether is having any affect then to remove it for a couple of days then see the difference.  I was very pleased with the improvement in my girl - she wore it 24/7 - although my others only wear their ordinary collars to go out.  I think I paid around £20 - worth every penny for 5 years use and to see her not stiff on rising.

My daughter uses one on her arthritic 12 year old and if they forget to put it back on after a bath, within 2 days you can see the old lady struggling! :(

Sounds like its worth a try then Thanks for the quick replies.

I remember a few discussion regarding these over the years :-)  Here is one I have found.
My advise is, if you do want to give it go, don't buy one of these exploititively expensive ones.  Make  your own from any small magnet.  That way at least you are not being ripped off.  That should remove a bit of pain for a start :-D  Fail in that you could always buy a house next to a pylon ;-)

My old Beardie girl got stiff as she aged, I put one on her and it never came off. I thoug he was better with it

Our dog wore one for a great number of years he had a nylon cable tie fixing his ID disc to his collar so's not to interfere
                                                                                                                                    
with the bio- flow it did far more for him than any other drug or remedy did in his later years,

I wouldn't buy anything other than a Bioflow.  The others won't take the skin off a rice pudding and will be a waste of money! :)

Mine was a Bioflow too.

I'm wearing a Bioflow bracelet myself. :-)  It works for me!

So was Una's

Hi Vanhalla
Do you mind if I ask why you wear a bracelet as I may try one myself,( I think german shepherditis is setting in in my own joints LOL )  so I,m thinking of giving it a go .
The lady who sells bioflow also recommends them for skin complaints. any thoughts anyone?

> any thoughts anyone?

You could ask her to produce the reports from the double blind, placebo controlled studies that support this.

Pavlova, I've been wearing a Bioflow bracelet for the past 7 years.  The arthritis in my hands was so bad that I couldn't pull the duvet up around my neck in the mornings!  I've had no problem since. :)  I have no idea about skin complaints. :)

It might be an idea to ask views from people who have used them, rather than 'anyone'! :)

> It might be an idea to ask views from people who have used them, rather than 'anyone'!

So far, I don't think anyone who has replied has not had personal experience of magnotherapy but not sure why that would matter :-)

Hi Pavlova
I tore a ligament in my right knee about three years ago, and arthritis set in.  I had a lot of trouble with swelling in the knee for the next few weeks.  A friend lent me the Bioflow strap with large magnets to apply directly to the knee which I did every day whilst on holiday at her house - the first night with the strap on I lost so much fluid over all of my body that I soaked the bed (embarrassing when it's not your bed), but the next day the swelling in the knee was greatly reduced.  When I got home, I bought a Bioflow bracelet and wore it on the left arm until the knee was better - not cured, but better.
Unfortunately, it's true to say that the original problem in the knee triggered problems over the next few years in many of my joints - it's inherited in my family.  Wearing the bracelet on the left arm didn't seem to stop this happening, so I changed it to the right arm in the Spring this year following a fall at work which injured my wrist, and the pain and swelling has greatly reduced over all of my joints since then.  I was taking paracetemol every day last winter just to get going in the morning (a progression from previous years), but so far this year I have not needed to.
My experience has been that it does not "cure" the arthritis, but it certainly seems to reduce the pain and swelling in my case.  It's helped a lot applied directly to the site of an injury to reduce initial swelling - that is where I saw the most dramatic effects on both my knee and wrist.  I certainly know when I stop wearing it - the swelling and pain is worse.  Different people will experience different degrees of relief, and I think you need to experiment wth different locations for the bracelet too.
I have discoid eczema, and I do still get an outbreak now and again when I'm stressed or excited, but I found that switching to plain old CoOp oatmeal soap has greatly improved that.

> A friend lent me the Bioflow strap with large magnets to apply directly to the knee

This sound very much like the equipment used in the NHS trial I was involved with.  The men in suits from the company fitted them to us very precisely using Xray to make the spot for the equipement to be matched up to every night.  The results were then obtained and correlated by our orthopaedic team at the hospital.  Neither my husband, nor myself, nor any of the other people we met over a period of year attending the follow up clinics showed any response what so ever.  To the best of my knowledge it is still not used by the NHS where it clearly could be a very cost effective treatment so presumably the results have still never been forthcoming since.
The straps were quite large and constructed of nylon in our equipment.  It is hard to say but I wonder if merely the heating of the limb from wearing the contraption resulted in assisting the fluid to dissipate through the skin, heat being a treatment often prescribed for swellings.

I bought one a few weeks back for my old boy who has arthritis in his hind legs, however I have to say that I have not noticed any difference at all in his mobility.

It's possible that wearing the magnets close to the skin warmed them up, which being metal would mean that the strap was warmer than it would have been without them - at the time, I remarked on the fact that the knee felt quite hot within a few minutes of putting the strap on.  When I fell on my wrist, I did not use the strap, only the bracelet.
Incidentally, the Arthritis Research Campaign conducted a study which found that the bracelets did reduce knee and hip pain, whether through a placebo effect or the effect of the magnet itself.  ARC advises people to try magnets as part of their self-help regime.  The strength of the magnet does seem to make a difference.
I've no idea how they work, but work they do, at least to some degree and for me.  I'm not saying I'm cured, but my symptoms do seem to be alleviated to some degree.

The strength of the magnet does seem to make a difference.  I've no idea how they work, but work they do

We are magnetic beings!  A Kinesiologist can turn your muscles off by placing a very strong magnet in the right position! ;)  The strength and position are very important.

> We are magnetic beings!  A Kinesiologist can turn your muscles off by placing a very strong magnet in the right position! ;-) 

I was just about to post to Vanhalla that at least it can do no harm but then this reminded me that many people believe that strong magnetic fields, for example close to pylons, are harmful, so maybe not ;-)
Kinesiology is not uncontested either :-)

There are people who will argue against anything in all fields Isabel. :)

You can't argue with good sound scientific evidence.

Other scientists do all the time

> I've no idea how they work, but work they do, at least to some degree and for me.  I'm not saying I'm cured, but my symptoms do seem to be alleviated to some degree

I've personally found that to be the case too Vanhalla - as have many relatives and friends :)  Certainly worth trying IME

I did say good sound evidence, Teri :-)  ie that which has been through the process of debate and replication.

There isn't a field, especially the medical field, where 'experts' all agree!  In the veterinary area, the top British eye specialist doesn't agree with the top American eye specialist, regardless of all the 'good sound evidence'!  As lay people, we have to make our own decisions and trust whoever we choose. :)

But you are welcome to have the last word. :)

> the top British eye specialist doesn't agree with the top American eye specialist, regardless of all the 'good sound evidence'! 

You are right, experts will disagree and you are right to say people can trust who they wish but it probably helps their decision to consider where this lies in the regard of the scientific world and this does not seem to be a case of top experts taking up different positions on certain points nor does it seems to have any scientific evidence for them to debate over.

> the top British eye specialist doesn't agree with the top American eye specialist

They don't see eye to eye. :-D

Sorry, it was too good a pun to miss. :-D

>they don't see eye to eye. :-D

*groan*

:-D

> They don't see eye to eye. :-D

:-D :-D

Yes very funny  (but not strictly on topic ROFLOL)

Hi

I had a bio flow on my collie and he lived till he was 16 and at that age was still jumping in and out the back of the car and was still very active.

I would highly recommend then, they are well worth the money.

Well one thing I will say is that the dog won,t know about  the placebo effect so if there is any improvement in her condition it could well be the effects of the bioflow.
We are trying a three month trial as suggested by the distributor.
Thanks everyone for all your imput.

>one thing I will say is that the dog won,t know about  the placebo effect

The placebo effect does, however, work on the owner, and this can have one of two effects; a) the owner looks harder than otherwise and reports 'improvements' that they wouldn't previously have noted (and put it down to the collar) or b) the owner is convinced it will work so is more relaxed and happier and this has a knock-on effect on the dog, who feels better because the owner is less stressed.

Thanks for that JG i hadn,t thought of it like that.
Ha Ha it takes someone with a better mind than me its a really interesting thought that one.

Unfortunately the owner doesn't imagine an old bitch not being able to get up the step from the garden and collapsing in a heap if she's not been wearing her collar for a couple of days. :(

> Unfortunately the owner doesn't imagine an old bitch not being able to get up the step from the garden and collapsing in a heap if she's not been wearing her collar for a couple of days.

If the owners demeanour has encouraged her not to attempt to move so much and she has become less supple over a day of two one can imagine it I would say.

If the owners demeanour has encouraged her not to attempt to move so much and she has become less supple over a day of two one can imagine it I would say.

What a load of twaddle!  Your crystal balls have told you what the owner's demeanour had encouraged a bitch that you have never seen to do, have they?  You attitude really is quite unbelievable, but I'm sure that owners hoping to help their arthritic dogs have already worked that out for themselves!

The truth is that the owner didn't know that the bitch wasn't wearing her collar as the groomer hadn't put it back on her after her bath, which is a regular occurrence, and before your crystal balls tell you otherwise, doesn't usually affect the bitch's movement.  The owner therefore had treated the bitch in the same way that she usually does. :)

Pavlova, I was going to suggest that you ask if anyone with a Bioflow will lend you one to try, but thinking about it, I don't think that anyone would be prepared to taken them off their dogs. :(

You right, my crystal ball would never have predicted that the owner would not have noticed that the contraption was not on her neck for two days!  :-D

Be fair, Isabel - it could happen if the owner hasn't touched the dog for two days.

it could happen if the owner hasn't touched the dog for two days.

Yes it could if the owner had been away and the dog had a big coat! :)  It isn't a contraption - it's a thin fabric collar with a small but powerful magnet under the throat that it completely unseen.

>Yes it could if the owner had been away and the dog had a big coat!

"The owner therefore had treated the bitch in the same way that she usually does."

The post didn't say that the owner had been away from the dog for two days, just that she treated the dog the same way as usual. no stroking, no putting the lead on for a walk ...

The post didn't say that the owner had been away from the dog for two days ...

Why should it?  The facts were given.  The owner treated the dog as normal.  Would you like to know what she'd had for dinner?  It may help Isabel's crystal balls come up with a more sensible answer! :)

Stroking isn't always around the neck - she likes her tummy rubbed - and the dog isn't walked on a lead.  Goodness me!  You can make up whatever theory you like - I really don't care.

Pavlova, I'm sure, will make up her own mind by all the positive comments on this thread. :)

>It isn't a contraption - it's a thin fabric collar with a small but powerful magnet under the throat that it completely unseen.

I know what they're like - I returned the one I got for my dog after a month because it didn't make any difference to her at all.

> Pavlova, I'm sure, will make up her own mind by all the positive comments on this thread

Hopefully WestCoast.  IMO posters should not be ridiculed for sharing their personal and positive experiences with alternative treatments.  Even with prescription medicines, what works to the benefit of some does not always do so for others either having no effect or sometimes resulting in adverse reactions. (A bit like posting on a forum come to think of it ;) )

regards, Teri

Right as Sharon has decided to find out for herself weather the collar works for her dog or not I think this has run its course.