Did you know that humans aren’t too far removed from the DNA of a toaster? It’s true, at least according to the folks at , who believe that our bodies’ energy is similar to household appliances. They claim that, like appliances, we also need to be grounded, albeit for health and wellness reasons.

Practitioners of grounding claim that humans accumulate electrons throughout the day. These pesky sparky boys supposedly cause all sorts of issues with inflammation, metabolism, blood circulation, immunity, mood, anxiety, sleep patterns and general pain.

Grounding yourself to the Earth – aka touching grass – is supposedly the solution, but that practice has apparently been lost to time with the invention of shoes. Plus, some folks can’t go outside and stand on the ground all day, whether that be due to limited accessibility, disability or lack of access to green spaces.

Feeling a little microwave-y, or perhaps a bit hairdryer-ish lately? GroundingWell Socks claim to be the answer. But their only real trick is leaving your wallet worse for wear.

What are grounding socks?

Grounding products tap into the earth socket of a power outlet, so you can expel and replace electrons without having to go outside. You can get floor mats, bedsheets, socks and more that keep you grounded, as long as they’re plugged in and in contact with your skin.

These particular socks plug in via a push-button pin, and include 20% silver fibre to assist with conductivity (among other things). All you need to do is put the socks on, hook them up and wait while grounding replaces your electrons.

Do the grounding socks work?

Based on our experience with the GroundingWell Socks, no. Though the socks do ground and discharge your electrons (as confirmed with a Fluke 177 digital multimeter), grounding itself doesn’t live up to any of its claims.

We wore the socks twice over the course of two days for an hour at a time while seated and lying down. GroundingWell doesn’t appear to specify minimum or maximum time limits for optimal grounding. The socks failed to help with the following claims made on the GroundingWell website:

• Faster healing, muscle recovery and bones and joints following a workout: Recovery occurred at the same rate the following day without a GroundingWell Sock.
• Pain alleviation: Pain persisted in right knee and right shoulder during and after grounding.
• Foot odour: We wore one grounding sock and one regular sock in leather boots. They each smelled the same after a day of use.
• Anti-aging effects: We still look old.
• Mood improvement: We’re still stressed about the mortgage.

Foot, wear?

Turns out the socks have another Achilles heel – the build quality. The grounding cord is very hard to attach and detach from the connection pin, which could be a problem for people with limited dexterity, pain and inflammation issues or limited strength. In other words, the kind of customers that GroundingWell is targeting.

They’re also poorly made. The connection pin tore off the fabric after just two grounding sessions during our review, rendering one sock completely useless – more so than before.

Does grounding science stack up?

Despite the claims, there’s no evidence that humans operate like appliances. The research oversimplifies how energy works, according to Carl Mihalilovich, our in-house expert who has over 30 years of experience in electronic test labs, including 20 years with Australian electrical safety standard committees.

“You do need electrical signals to function but that’s internal to your body,” he says. “It’s not clear how a current flowing between your body and the Earth provides any real health benefit. At best this is current flowing from your skin to Earth via a reasonably high resistance cable.”

The cable claims to have a resistance of 100 kiloohms, supposedly for safety reasons. But GroundingWell’s explanation is another oversimplification that 1) isn’t true as it’s actually around 9.7 kiloohms, and 2) isn’t necessary, according to Carl. “Even 9.7 kiloohms is higher than what’s generally required to provide an effective earth connection, based on the requirements of electrical safety standards,” he says.

Plus, grounding doesn’t actually replace electrons. It only discharges you in an instant then stops any flow of energy until you disconnect. “You’re simply discharged and remain that way until you disconnect then charge back up again, for want of better words,” explains Carl. “It’s like an anti-static wrist strap worn while repairing electronics, PCs and so on.”

Shaky evidence

The is pretty questionable as well. Studies often fail to consider other factors that may be generating the outcome researchers are looking for, even in double-blind tests. Arguments tend to revolve around “grounded subjects showed X, ungrounded ones did not; therefore, X must be a result of grounding”.

“Proof” is also based on subjective outcomes. Things like “feeling better”, “reduced pain” and “less stress” aren’t quantifiable on their own. Test pools are often quite small as well.

For example, one study that claimed among patients with mild Alzheimer’s Disease only surveyed 15 people. Another one found that , which is quite amazing until you consider that the researcher only used 12 people and that it was backed by a massage business – that offered grounding services.

And finally, arguments in support of grounding largely come from pilot studies with conclusions that are rarely conclusive. Scroll to the end of a grounding research paper and it will usually wrap up with something like: “Grounding appears to be causing these effects but we don’t know why. Further research is required.”

Are the grounding socks safe?

On paper, the socks are safe as long as you’re only connected to the grounding port. But while the grounding cable is designed to fit in the grounding socket, the wall adapter connects to all three points in the electrical socket – so you just have to hope that GroundingWell has made sure that the live pins are correctly isolated.

Even if it is well made, the adaptor still has some glaring flaws, according to Carl.

“The adaptors are not approved for use in Australia and therefore can’t be considered safe,” he explains. “An obvious problem is the omission of the insulation required on the live pins where they exit the adaptor body. This has been a requirement in Australia since 2005.”

One foot in the ground

Is there enough evidence to conclusively say that grounding, and therefore the GroundingWell Socks, don’t work? No. Is there enough evidence to prove that the socks do work and are worth the $40 price tag? Also no. But not only did they fail to deliver promised results, they’re also poorly made and difficult to use.

Grounding could very well be an effective tool, but more than thirty years of research hasn’t been able to figure out how and why. All of the maths and machines in the world can’t change the fact that so much of the “proven evidence” is anecdotal and you can’t sell science on stories alone.

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On this page:

• Defining your brain pain
• Secondary headaches
• Treatment options
• Stay on target?
• Alternative therapies

Working through the list of options can put a strain on your already-suffering brain, especially with all the medical jargon involved. We’ve broken down the key points you need to consider when shopping for headache and migraine medication.

Defining your brain pain

Your headache will usually fall into one of these two categories:

Primary headaches

These include tension-type headaches, migraines and cluster headaches.

• Tension-type headaches are the most common, affecting around 7 million Australians. Their specific cause is unknown, but triggers can include poor posture, bright lights, stress and fatigue. They may not always relate to ‘muscle tension’ as is popularly believed.
• Migraines are also reasonably common, with about 15% of the population having suffered from them. Apart from moderate or severe throbbing head pain, which may be aggravated by movement, migraines can be associated with nausea, vomiting, photophobia (sensitivity to light) and/or phonophobia (sensitivity to noise). Women are up to three times more likely than men to suffer from migraine headaches. They’re most common when people are in their 20s and 30s, and tend to reduce in severity later in life.
• Cluster headaches are extremely painful headaches that cause groups or “clusters” of attacks, usually for several weeks at a time. These attacks can last between 15 minutes and three hours, with up to three potential attacks occurring each day. They are very rare, affecting about 1 in every 1000 people, typically between the ages of 20 and 40.

Secondary headaches

These are caused by an underlying condition such as disease or injury, which needs to be identified and treated. Sinusitis, meningitis, encephalitis, stroke, brain tumours, dental problems, or physical trauma such as whiplash or concussion can cause secondary headaches – as can a few too many drinks!

You should seek medical assistance immediately if your headache:

• is much worse than, or different to, any headache you’ve had before,
• starts suddenly or is aggravated by exertion, coughing, bending over or sexual activity,
• is associated with persistent nausea and vomiting
• is associated with fever or stiff neck
• is associated with seizures
• is associated with recent head trauma or a fall
• is associated with changes in vision, speech or behaviour
• is associated with weakness or change in sensation
• is not responding to treatment and getting worse
• requires more than the recommended dose of OTC medications for pain
• is disabling and/or is interfering with your work and quality of life.

Medication overuse headache

Usually an incoming headache means a quick trip to the medicine cabinet, but did you know that too much medication can possibly make things worse? Medication overuse headache (MOH), once known as ‘rebound headache’ is now the third-most common headache type (after tension and migraine), and is estimated to affect two per cent of the population.

The exact reason for MOH headaches is unclear, but it’s believed that regular use of painkillers may alter the processing of pain signals in the brain, making you more sensitive to pain and affecting how your brain naturally deals with it. In response, you take more painkillers, continuing the cycle, and after a while, your body becomes used to the presence of a certain level of the drug, reducing the effects. Stopping the dosage can result in withdrawal, which leads to more pain.

MOH can arise from taking as few as 15 doses of painkillers for headaches in a month for three months, depending on the individual and the type of painkiller used (see Your treatment options). Interestingly, if you’re taking painkillers for pain other than headache – such as osteoarthritis – you’re less likely to suffer the MOH effect.

A diagnosis of MOH is made if headaches occur on more than 15 days per month for at least three consecutive months, in conjunction with the regular use of painkillers. Depression and anxiety are commonly associated problems and may complicate treatment. The treatment of choice is complete withdrawal, under your doctor’s supervision. During this time, your headache often worsens before it gets better.

Treatment options

Many over-the-counter (OTC) treatments are known by their brand name rather than a generic term. You can often save money by buying generic drugs which are chemically equivalent to their branded counterpart. These include:

• paracetamol – Panadol and Herron
• ibuprofen – Nurofen, Brufen and Advil
• naproxen – Aleve
• diclofenac – Voltaren.

OTC products such as aspirin, paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can usually relieve the symptoms of most tension-type headaches. These include ibuprofen (Nurofen) or naproxen (Aleve), while acupuncture, physical therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and relaxation techniques may also help with frequent headaches (see Alternative therapies).

You can often treat mild migraines with aspirin, paracetamol or NSAIDs (including ibuprofen, naproxen or diclofenac), but more severe incidents may require prescription medication. There are several prescription medicines that, taken daily, may help reduce the frequency and/or severity of migraines. Your doctor can determine what’s likely to help you, with options including triptans, anti-emetics, ergotamine compounds, beta blockers, some anti-depressants, anti-epileptic medications, or calcium channel-blockers. Opioids (such as codeine or pethidine) are not recommended.

A specific headache diagnosis is the best way to obtain the right treatment. If a prescribed treatment hasn’t been successful, see your doctor again for a different prescription – or seek a second opinion.

Stay on target?

Many painkillers advertise their ability to identify and ‘target’ pain in specific parts of the body, including tension headache, migraine, back pain, neck pain, period pain and osteoarthritic pain. It sounds like the perfect solution – after all, a migraine-specific ibuprofen is bound to work better than an all-over product right? Not exactly. Painkillers act systemically rather than locally, so the drug is absorbed into your bloodstream and accesses most tissues in your body, not just the site of pain.

In fact, a closer look at the ingredients reveals they are often identical from product to product. For example, Nurofen Migraine Pain contains 200mg of ibuprofen, the same as Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Tension Headache Pain and regular Nurofen Tablets. Panadol Back + Neck Pain contains the same 500mg of paracetamol as regular Panadol tablets, while the eight-hour sustained-release Osteo and Back + Neck products both contain 665mg. These ‘targeted’ products are often more expensive than their identical ‘regular’ counterparts – in fact, in 2010 we gave Nurofen a Shonky award for this very reason.

Alternative therapies

Feverfew and butterbur are herbal remedies that have been found to reduce the incidence of migraines – as have riboflavin (vitamin B2), magnesium (oxide or chelated) and coenzyme Q10 supplements. Our sister organisation in the US, Consumers Union, has put compiled a on its Consumer Reports on Health website.

A recent review of 22 studies found consistent evidence that acupuncture is also useful for treating acute migraine attacks and appears to be at least as effective as, or possibly more effective than, preventative drug treatment – with fewer adverse effects.

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