Opinions on powerbalance wrist bands

malander · Aug 27, 2011

A lot of my friends get these and half love em while the other half think they're a waste. I don't believe any of the science they claim, but I was thinking if a placebo affect works, then technically the product is working. Any thoughts on this?

hudhawk · Aug 27, 2011

The company that makes them actually said on an Australian radio program that there's no scientific proof that they work.

Andrew H · Aug 27, 2011

they're junk.

rleeharris · Aug 27, 2011

Snake oil...pure snake oil. These powerbands are the same think as the old Q-link devices that came out about 10 years ago. And those were completely debunked. It's all mind over matter.

malander · Aug 27, 2011

rleeharris said: ↑

Snake oil...pure snake oil. These powerbands are the same think as the old Q-link devices that came out about 10 years ago. And those were completely debunked. It's all mind over matter.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm thinking though. If the placebo affect makes you energized or more balanced or whatever then doesn't the product work? Maybe not directly because of what's in it but because you think it's working

PerfectTekniq · Aug 27, 2011

Bullshit.

But if you need it to make you lose weight or stop having back pains...more power to ya.

TeamSarcasm · Aug 27, 2011

i have an article on these, let me look for it give me a sec

TeamSarcasm · Aug 27, 2011

Power Balance: Bracelets don't work

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Associated Press

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- Shaquille O'Neal swears by them. The Power Balance bracelet, he says, gives him a competitive edge on the court. It's no gimmick, he says. It's for real.
It may be for him, but Australian authorities say the California-based company behind the wildly popular wristbands and pendants has no business claiming that they improve balance, strength and flexibility.
And they even got Power Balance to admit it.
The company wrote: "We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims." It also agreed to give refunds to customers who believe they were cheated.
The company's admission, however, hopped across the globe since its agreement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was announced on Dec. 22.
It was an answer to what many who saw the ads wondered: Do the colorful silicone bands actually work?
Critics railed against the company on Twitter and those who had believed in the bracelet's power.
The company unleashed a torrent of its own tweets, playing off the word "admit."
In one, it said: "Power Balance Admits products have been worn during the last world series, nba finals and super bowl champions!"
Fans insist the bands have helped their game.
"Our trainers swear by it," Phoenix Suns forward Jared Dudley wrote in a message posted on his Twitter page.
The company began selling bracelets in 2007 embedded with holograms that were purportedly designed to interact with the body's natural energy flow.
Since then, the colorful wristbands, which sell for $29.95, have become ubiquitous, donned by Los Angeles Lakers' Lamar Odom and English celebrity soccer star David Beckham.
They have also been worn by celebrities, including actors Robert De Niro and Gerard Butler.
The company sold $8,000 of merchandise in its first year and expects more than $35 million in sales in 2010.
Power Balance, for its part, doesn't claim to have science on its side, said Adam Selwyn, a spokesman for the Laguna Niguel, Calif.-based company.
Rather, it relies on testimonials from famous athletes and users to tout the products' effects. The company says it pays some athletes for the right to use their images wearing the bracelets, including O'Neal and Odom.
Josh Rodarmel, one of the company's co-founders, said in a statement he knows there may be skeptics. "We're not trying to win over every person in the world," he said.
Ralph Reiff, program director at St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis, said maybe a third of the hundreds of professional and amateur athletes who train there wear the wristband or an imitation.
The program even thought about putting its logo on the products and handing them out, he said.
But officials decided against that because they couldn't find enough reliable research to back up the company's claims about giving a biological boost to performance, he said.
"I couldn't look in the mirror and 100 percent say [it's] a product I can put my brand reputation behind," said Reiff, a certified athletic trainer.
Reiff said he believes there's no reason to think the wristbands could produce a biological benefit, and that any benefit is purely psychological.
"It's just like a pair of lucky socks," Reiff said. "It's a lucky charm, and if you believe in it, then it's excellent."
On its web site, Power Balance features video footage of athletes holding their arms out and resisting downward pressure in trials with and without the bands.
A Wisconsin professor ran similar tests comparing the performance of 42 athletes wearing Power Balance wristbands and silicon versions from Wal-Mart and said he found no difference.
Athletes were more likely to perform better wearing the second bracelet they put on, largely because they knew what to expect from the trial, said John Porcari, professor of exercise and sport science at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
"I think it is a scam," he said. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the bracelets. It is all in people's heads."
Click to expand...

if your to lazy to read, the bottom underlined part

From this.

WaGood24 · Sep 12, 2011

malander[OP] said: ↑

That's what I'm thinking though. If the placebo affect makes you energized or more balanced or whatever then doesn't the product work? Maybe not directly because of what's in it but because you think it's working
Click to expand...

I know what you're saying and I agree with you. They aren't actually doing what they claim to do, but if they make you feel better then they "work". The mind is a crazy thing and the placebo effect is sometimes just as effective as the real deal. However, I'd never buy one because placebos don't work on me.

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Opinions on powerbalance wrist bands

#1
malander [OP] Well-Known Member

#2
hudhawk #texasforever

#3
Andrew H What is this "search" you speak of?

#4
rleeharris "Old Timer," compliments of 11Taco2.7

#5
malander [OP] Well-Known Member

#6
PerfectTekniq I'm undefeated in the UFC.

#7
TeamSarcasm Flawless Escalation to the Ludicrous

#8
TeamSarcasm Flawless Escalation to the Ludicrous

#9
WaGood24 Well-Known Member

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Welcome to Tacoma World!

Opinions on powerbalance wrist bands

#1 malander [OP] Well-Known Member

#2 hudhawk #texasforever

#3 Andrew H What is this "search" you speak of?

#4 rleeharris "Old Timer," compliments of 11Taco2.7

#5 malander [OP] Well-Known Member

#6 PerfectTekniq I'm undefeated in the UFC.

#7 TeamSarcasm Flawless Escalation to the Ludicrous

#8 TeamSarcasm Flawless Escalation to the Ludicrous

#9 WaGood24 Well-Known Member

Products Discussed in Entire Site Forum: Health

#1
malander [OP] Well-Known Member

#2
hudhawk #texasforever

#3
Andrew H What is this "search" you speak of?

#4
rleeharris "Old Timer," compliments of 11Taco2.7

#5
malander [OP] Well-Known Member

#6
PerfectTekniq I'm undefeated in the UFC.

#7
TeamSarcasm Flawless Escalation to the Ludicrous

#8
TeamSarcasm Flawless Escalation to the Ludicrous

#9
WaGood24 Well-Known Member

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