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MONDAY, June 30 (HealthDayNews) -- Slipping magnets in your sneakers apparently won't make you run faster or jump higher.

A new study, published in the current issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, reports that magnetic therapy -- in the form of shoe insoles -- did not improve physical performance.

In fact, some scores actually dropped.

Proponents of magnetic therapy claim it helps athletes perform at their best by relieving pain and fatigue -- an idea that has appealed to athletes always searching for ways to improve their performance.

Using 14 male soccer players from the University of Central Arkansas, researchers put the young men through a battery of tests to measure their performance in the vertical jump, 40-yard sprint and bench press, as well as an array of soccer-specific tests. Then, half the athletes wore shoes with magnetic insoles during practice and games for seven weeks.

Scores for those whose shoes contained magnetic insoles showed no significant improvement compared with scores for those without the magnets. Vertical jump and 40-yard sprint scores decreased.

The best way to increase athletic performance and decrease injuries is through a strength-and-conditioning program, according to the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

More information

Here's where you can learn more about magnet therapy.