Many athletes in recent years, both professional and amateur, have been seen wearing a strange rubbery bracelet with a white spot in the center, claiming it can improve balance and athletic performance in general. I became interested in these funny looking accessories when I saw my friend, a baseball player at Moravian, wearing one last month. He, and many others, swear by the band’s ability to improve performance in athletics.
These “Power Balance Bands” feature a “hologram which is purportedly designed to interact with the body’s natural energy flow.” Now, clearly this sounds like a bunch of baloney to any rational person. Not only does the company avoid explaining what “flow of energy” even means, they do not even explain how the “hologram” on the bracelet even affects the body (or what the hologram is made of, for that matter!)
Unsurprisingly, a scientist went to work to discover if these bands truly were a helpful athletic accessory or a big hoax. Professor John Pacori, professor of exercise and sport science at University Wisconsin-La Crosse, is quoted on this news article as saying “I think it is a scam.” Porcari’s small trial came out with a small trial which involved 42 athletes- some wearing Power Balance bands and others wearing silicone “Wal-Mart bands”, and concluded that there was no difference in performance.
What this says to me is that there could possibly be a placebo effect taking place which makes people think they do better while wearing the bracelet. Believers of this accessory must perform better and think that the band is the reason it’s happening, not because of any “biological benefit” as the company claimed.
An interesting side note is that the company that produces these bands even said that “We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims,” and even agreed to refund customers’ money who felt tricked by the company’s optimistic ad campaign.
This is a real-world case which makes me see why classes like this are important- if people were able to look into these facts and studies seeing that there’s no scientific reasoning behind these bracelets being beneficial, then scummy businessmen with rubber wristbands wouldn’t be getting away with this kind of ridiculous scheme.
I found your post extremely interesting because my mom bought about 10 of those when they came out and swore on her life that they were going to help her and still to this day wears them because she believes they do. You should check out this link its interesting article about the controversy of whether they actually do anything to help.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-12135402
According to BBC, the manufacturers of these bands have admitted to there being no scientific research supporting the idea that these bands improve balance, strength, and flexibility. In a study, 42 athletes were tested in a double blind placebo and the results were that the bands did not improve anything the company claimed they would(Rohrer). Based on this research alone, I know that I wouldn’t waste my money on one of these bands because there is no research to support the idea that they improve balance, strength, and flexibility. Check out the article: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-12135402
Works Cited
Rohrer, Finlo. “What Are Power Balance Bands?” BBC News. BBC News Magazine, 7 Jan. 2011. Web. 18 Sept. 2014.
One time while I was at a sporting goods store I tried one of these bands on and I felt much more balanced. Honestly, I was not expecting to feel more balanced, but I think it is very psychological. Every sign around me was saying this band would improve my balance, along with the salesmen, so I feel like it was completely mental. Especially if you are saying the scientists are saying they will refund anyone’s money who felt tricked.