#LIFE BALANCE BRACELETS TRIAL#

The order of bracelets was randomized and the testing was conducted in a double-blind fashion.

#LIFE BALANCE BRACELETS TRIAL#

Subjects performed two trials of each test, without warm-up: During one trial subjects wore a Power Balance В® bracelet and for the other trial subjects wore a placebo bracelet. The trunk flexibility, balance, and strength tests were the same tests that are presented on the Power Balance В® website (The vertical jump test was added as a test of lower body power. 8 m, 63.2 В± 8.1 kg) completed four tests: trunk flexibility, balance, strength, and vertical jump. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether wearing of the Power BalanceВ® bracelet can improve trunk flexibility, balance, strength, and lower body power.ДЇorty-two NCAA Division III athletes (22M: 20.1 В± 1.4 years, 1.82 В± 6.4 m, 82.0 В± 12.6 kg 20F: 19.5 В± 1.3 years, 1.66 В± 6. To our knowledge, no randomized, double- blind, placebo trials have ever been conducted evaluating the validity of these claims. This purportedly improves flexibility, balance, and strength. The holograms within the Power Balance В® bracelet are designed to вЂњresonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the bodyвЂќ. One of the most popular performance enhancing bracelets currently on the market is sold by Power Balance В® (The Power Balance В® bracelet has two dime-sized holograms one on either side of the bracelet.

This brings into questions whether the improvement on the second trial is due to 1) a benefit of the bracelet, 2) the fact the subjects were warmed-up (Maud et al., 2006a 2006b), 3) subjects being habituated to the task (Benson and Friedman, 1996 Wright et al., 2009), or 4) a placebo effect (Beedie and Foad, 2009). Invariably, subjects perform better on the second trial. In demonstrations designed to validate the performance enhancing benefits of these products, however, companies typically conduct the testing in the following sequence: The first trial is done without the bracelet on and the second trial is performed with the bracelet on.

There is considerable marketing of these products, including testimonial evidence by high profile athletes, in support of the purported benefits. The most common claims are that wearing this performance jewelry will improve flexibility, balance, and strength. Performance jewelry is one of the latest products on the market designed to improve athletic performance. Athletes are constantly searching for something that will give them a competitive edge.

Life balance bracelets