Does wearing copper bracelets relieve pain, balance our body or cure illnesses? No, that's not true: Researchers have stated that no conclusive evidence indicates that copper accessories can reduce pain or inflammation and that wearing them has any proven health benefits.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok by @maeple.suparat (archived here) on February 6, 2024, under the title (translated from Thai to English by Lead Stories staff) "Balance your body and cure illness with a copper bracelet." It opened (as translated):
Wearing copper bracelets, with the tails of negative and positive charges not touching each other, allows one to harness natural magnetic power waves. These waves can help relieve pain.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Tue Feb 27 09:48:36 2024 UTC)
Many Thai accounts on TikTok have posted videos about copper accessories being the new trend for treatments allegedly using magnetic waves from nature. In this video, the person says (as translated):
Wearing copper bracelets, with the tails of negative and positive charges not touching each other, allows one to harness natural magnetic power waves. These waves help balance blood circulation, relieve pain, and alleviate serious diseases. They can also protect our bodies from the effects of WiFi, Bluetooth, or computer waves. Moreover, it helps with insomnia when placed under the pillow.
Another video (archived here) on TikTok claims that copper wire from electronic equipment alleviates knee pain.
However, evidence supporting the use of copper bracelets as a treatment is very thin (archived here). Research over the years has found that magnetic wrist straps and copper bracelets do not alleviate arthritis pain or stiffness. One scientific study, titled "Copper Bracelets and Magnetic Wrist Straps for Rheumatoid Arthritis - Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Effects: A Randomised Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Crossover Trial" (archived here) was published online by PLOS ONE on September 16, 2013. In this study, researchers used devices combined with magnets or copper in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial, meaning patients in the experiment were unaware of which medication they received (archived here). Placebo-controlled trials were conducted for both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The analysis of treatment outcomes indicated that magnet devices, including copper, did not affect pain, inflammation, physical function, disease activity or medication usage.
Moreover, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned (archived here) that copper bracelets can also be harmful when used by people who have an electronic device or implant such as a pacemaker, use an insulin pump, are pregnant or are allergic to metals like nickel.
Lead Stories has previously debunked claimed health benefits of copper bracelets and other jewelry; you can see those stories here, here and here.
