NHS accountants are so impressed by the cost-effectiveness of a “magnetic leg wrap” called 4UlcerCare that from Wednesday doctors will be allowed to prescribe it to patients.

Magnetic therapy, which was pioneered in ancient Egypt, has become one of the pillars of modern alternative medicine. Its adherents include Cherie Blair, Bill Clinton and Sir Anthony Hopkins, the actor.

Although its merits are challenged by traditional medics, it is used to treat joint pains, sports injuries, backache, muscle soreness and period pain.

It is also used on animals — 4UlcerCare was inspired by a dog named Kiri, which developed severe arthritis. Conventional treatments did not help and, after researching the use of magnets, Kiri’s owner, Derek Price, made a magnetic collar.

The dog made a remarkable recovery, which led Price to start manufacturing magnetic treatments for animals and people. Magnopulse, of which he is managing director, has sold more than 1m therapeutic magnets since 1997 to treat arthritis, swollen ankles, period pains and varicose veins.

The NHS Prescription Pricing Authority has ruled that 4UlcerCare is not just good for patients but also a good use of NHS cash. It believes the magnets will save money on bandages and nurses’ time by healing the wounds.

It has included magnets on the official list of items that can be prescribed on the NHS. The NHS has even done a cut-price deal with the manufacturers, buying treatments at £13.80 instead of the normal price of £29.

Critics of magnetic therapy say it is no more effective than a placebo, however. Only last month a paper in the British Medical Journal by Professor Leonard Finegold, from Drexel University in Philadelphia, and Professor Bruce Flamm, from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Riverside, California, cast doubt on the treatment.

“Patients should be advised that magnet therapy has no proven benefits. If they insist on using a magnetic device, they could be advised to buy the cheapest — this will alleviate the pain in their wallet,” they wrote.

It is not known exactly how magnets work. Adherents believe they improve circulation because they attract the iron in blood towards them and, in doing so, increase the supply of oxygen to the wound. They may also reduce painful acidity in tissue.

Some holistic therapists say magnets reduce “negative energy” in the body. They also believe magnets may encourage healthy tissue to generate its own electrical currents to stimulate wound repair.

A study demonstrating the benefits of static magnets was published in the Journal of Wound Care last year.

Dr Nyjon Eccles, an NHS GP in north London who carried out the trials, said: “I am not surprised that 4UlcerCare has been accepted since the clinical evidence is very convincing.”

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