Magnet positioning

edited December 2012 in Magnets
I'm asking for a tip for myself, but I also thought this could be an interesting discussion, as I assume people have them in different positions.

So, to simplify this, where's your magnet in relation to the picture below, what do you like about that position, and what do you think is not so great?

image

I assume it's advisable to steer clear of that tendon, so around the point above the Ventral Floor label, or further left. But how deep?

Comments

  • That Tendon is the reason I would steer away from cutting into the pad of the finger from the side and doing it from the tip seems better. Although I have no actual experience but it's just something that I was chatting with to one of my piercer mates about. Although it seems unlikely you'd ever hit that unless you went to the bone or off the first 'segment' of your finger. 
  • When I put mine in, I'm sure it was just above the Periosteum. I'm very certain mine was too deep however
  • Mines are near the periosteum, one in the ring finger, the other one in the index.

    The magnets still stick a bit "out", I can feel (or even see) the bumps they cause on the side of the fingers. Not sure if they've been inserted too close to the skin. But I doubt it though, they've been implanted there by Steve Haworth, he knows how to do it.

    The bumps vary from day to day, sometimes I can barely feel them, sometimes I feel like they're so close to the skin.
  • Cool picture of finger anatomy!  I'm going to keep a copy of that for reference.
  • agree with mkabala :) any ideas on the image reference? 
  • Mine is directly below, but slightly off center of the periosteum.  
    For multiple fingers, which would you guys suggest?  
    I put one in my left (non-dominant) hand ring finger.  Did it almost two weeks ago. Incision was completely closed after one week, no stitches, I went with Dermabond. 
    I think I want to avoid my right hand, but I can't see putting it in my pinky, not enough soft tissue, which leaves my middle finger and index.  I noticed that when I bump my implant, it can sting a bit.  This actually wasn't the case initially, but then I got too close to a magnet and it moved and flipped on me, since then it's been a bit sore when I press it or it pushes against something.  It doesn't feel as deep as it did, but paradoxically feels as if it presses on the bone when I press on it.  This may be due to the orientation of the magnet, the fact that it moved right on top of the slight bony protrusion on the periosteum or maybe it's just sore after flipping around in a very strong magnetic field.  
  • Are you guys sure about being near the periosteum? Have you ever left a chicken bone out to dry in the sun? Sometimes you'll see a little white layer that peels off the bone. This is periosteum. It's literally a very thin layer of progenitor cells and connective tissue that surrounds the bone. It's like paper thin. To get that far would require cutting through all the tendons which isn't terribly easy. I would guess that your magnets are positioned against the tendon and sheath if you went deep and placed it against something hard.

    It's certainly possible that you did hit bone; don't get me wrong. The Tendons insert pretty distal on the phalanges though... more so than shown in the picture above and they are hard shiny whitish.
  • On a side note, my next magnet is going to be placed in digit 3 "middle finger." I'm really curious about if there is any increased sensitivity in fingers innervated by the median nerve. These are digits 1 - 3, and half of 4. I find my middle finger and pointer finger far more sensitive and I have better motor control over them. I think the nerve clusters are denser.
  • edited July 2013
    You're totally right.  Chalk this up to a combination of sleep deprivation and the fact that while using my laptop that has a touchscreen, I'm constantly accidentally deleting things or typing things out of order, because my cursor is jumping around.
    What I meant to right is that my placement is directly below, where periosteum line is pointing in the above diagram.  
    I agree that it's unlikely that it would be placed on the periosteum, I would think that would heal in a very dangerous and painful way, as it might sort of "stick" to the bone.  When I initially placed it, it was quite deep.  So much so that I could barely lift a paperclip because there was so much tissue between the magnet and the outside of my finger.  It has since been pulled closer to the surface (got too close to a strong magnet within the 1st week of healing).  I think that was a lucky break though, since it seems more sensitive now.  Although now I can feel the bump more prominently, only when pressing on the finger, it's not noticeable if I just run a finger across outside of the finger
    I'm also thinking of putting the next one into my middle finger. I do actually think that the fingers innervated by the median nerve have a wider range of sensitivity, although I'm not sure how much that will translate to the magnetic sense.  Perhaps it will allow a greater degree of subtlety and maybe I'm just too new to it to see it.  I haven't even had it for two weeks yet.  So while I sense fields, motors, currents, they all just feel like vibration to me.  Perhaps with time it goes beyond that.....actually I'm almost certain that it does.  The brain learns to interpret the sense, just as it would anything else.   
  • Has anyone ever considered implanting a magnet in their big toe?  I know from a rather horrific workplace injury, where my toe was almost torn in half all the way to the bone, that there are quite a lot of nerves in the big toe.  
    I was thinking that perhaps it would allow for me to pick up on currents running through the ground.  Could also work with a bottlenose type of apparatus set in a shoe.  
    One of the reasons I'm considering it is probably ease of access.  Due to the injury I mentioned above, my toenail actually grows in two completely separate ways, it was permanently split and because the left side always grows into the toe, I do a little self surgery about every other month, where I actually tear half the toenail out all the way to the root.  This leaves quite a large hole in my toe when I do it, and it wouldn't be too difficult to cut in a little deeper along the side and implant a magnet into the left side of my right big toe.  
    It was actually because this has become so routine to me that I had such high confidence about my finger implant.  I know some of you are wondering why I don't go to the podiatrist, as a normal person might.  Well, I did originally because the wound became infected when I first hurt it, almost lost the toe actually.  That was years ago and the nail was supposed to have been permanently removed, but grows back regularly.   
    Anyway, I'm a chronic pain patient with significant damage to all of my cervical disks, even a myelomalacia, which is something pressing on my spinal cord; because of that I have to go to a pain management clinic once a month and orthopedics, neurologists, etc.  So, because of all of that and despite the fact that I work for  a major Hospital / Health system, I detest going to any doctor if I think I can take care of things myself.  
    So any thoughts about putting one in a toe?  I have plenty of spare magnets from my buy.  Then next time I pull the nail, I'll have easy access.  I've been doing it for about six times a year for the last five and have never had an infection from the way that I do it.  I'm very careful about sterilization and keeping it clean until it heals.  I don't see any real downside, it won't significantly increase the pain in any real way.  It sort of caps at a certain point, I don't think an additional little 4mm cut and the insertion of a magnet will cause any additional pain.  Just wondering if anyone thinks I'd get anything from it?  
    I'll probably do it just to see if it picks anything up.  I'm thinking that my shoes would often get in the way to some extent, but I go without shoes or wear sandal like shoes pretty often.  

  • If I did this, I'd go with a really big magnet. I mean, sensitivity will be small so you'd really have to have some oomph to feel it move.
  • @ Cassox; regarding your plan for placing a magnet in digit 3, middle finger; I think your hypothesis about fingers enervated by the median nerve making a difference is right on.  I just did a placement this past Friday, my 2nd, in the middle finger.  I only did my first implant in the ring finger 2 weeks ago from Friday.  I recall that sensitivity to fields came slowly with that one.  
    Perhaps I have better placement, in fact I'm almost sure that I do, on this or perhaps it is the median nerve, but after only a couple of days I'm picking up just as much sensitivity and sometimes more.  I can't feel a microwave yet with my ring finger, but I can feel it with my new implant in my middle finger.  
    What it doesn't do very well yet is pick up paperclips or bottlecaps; I think that this is because it is deeper.  I'm sure it's also due to the dermabond seal over it, since it was similar when I had the seal on my ring finger.  
  • Digit 3 is all healed up, at least externally.  It's definitely got better placement than my first one; I think simply because there's more tissue to implant in the middle finger than the ring finger.  It is much, much more sensitive, even though it hasn't been in place as long.  Even as I type I can feel the hard drive spinning on my laptop.  
    I think that having the two at two different depths also gives me a range in sensation. 
  • That's awesome! Yeah. I did digit three this last weekend too. I can feel it already as well, albeit less than other far older magnets. I do think digits 1-3 do provide a much greater sensitivity.
  • I've had a magnet in my middle finger for months and do not have anywhere near that degree of sensitivity. Is yours on axis? Mine is off axis to one side.
  • Mine are both off axis towards the thumb; in the pinky and middle finger.  I can feel my hard drive with the pinky but not the middle.  I think the pinky magnet isn't as deep as the other, which would explain that.
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