Power Balance bands are bands designed to be worn on the wrist and said to enhance sport performance. They are generally made of silicone, but some are neoprene-based, according to powerbands.com. A hologram is embedded on the surface which is said to optimize the body’s natural energy flow.

Even so, powerbalance.com claims the bracelet does not work for everyone, and that it can be returned with a full refund within 30 days.
Western senior Jordan Birkland was a part of a demonstration at the Capital City Marathon of May 2010 put on by people who sell these wonder bands.

First, Birkland was told to do a series of balancing acts without any contact with the band. Each time, a burly man was asked to give him a small push. Birkland nearly fell over every time.

After that, Birkland held the band in his hand, and after the large man tried to push him over again, Birkland continued to stand up straight. To Birkland, it felt like the same push.

“It could have been the way he was applying it,” Birkland said. “But I don’t know for sure.”

With the band, Birkland was also able to rotate his body more in a series of physical acts with the help of the burly man. Even when Birkland had the band in his pocket, he said he had the same effects.

“I’m skeptical still; it may be a gimmick,” he said. “But that experience was just bizarre to say the least. It was kind of like Star Trek.”
So the question is, does this bracelet really work for some people?

Joana Houplin, a Western junior and soccer athlete, said she has been wearing a Power Balance band for two to three months. She thinks the band has some uses in improving her game.

“It’s a placebo effect,” she said. “It’s like a Livestrong bracelet.”

She further said an article on Yahoo persuaded her to get one. Since she saw other athletes wearing them, she figured, “why not?”

Houplin doesn’t mind if the bands don’t work as they claim, as she likes the physical looks of the band the most. “If there’s no science behind it, that’s fine with me,” she said. “I’m still gonna wear it.”

Warren Howe, a Student Health Center doctor who specializes in sports medicine, said he had seen people wearing the bands and selling them before, and had heard that for some people, they were successful.

“I suspect that any perceived benefit is some sort of placebo effect,” he said. “As far as I can see, there is no basis.”
Howe said the bands do not work the way they’re advertised and confirmed Birkland’s suspicions about the large man who had been in the demonstration, as the effect does depend on the angle the force is applied.

“People who are selling these things are very practiced in how to demonstrate their ‘benefits’,” he said.

Howe said many athletes would do anything to improve their performance. He related it to why some athletes take drugs or try devices which aren’t scientifically proven. “If you tell them it will improve their function, they’ll do it,” he said.

He also said a study was performed at the Olympic Games where a group of people were asked if they would take an offered drug that its effects would guarantee a medal. On the flipside, the athletes were told the substance would decrease their lifespan by 10 years. A majority of the athletes in the study picked the drug, he said.

Amazon.com reviews of the Power Balance bands are mostly in agreement with the view of the placebo effect occurring.
Notably, a user on Amazon named “Justin” told his story about the same demonstration Birkland had encountered, and how he challenged a Power Balance sales representative on what the bracelet claims to do. He also wrote how receiving an electro-magnetic frequency, as the bands claim they do, is impossible; the bracelet would have to be 12,000 miles long due to the wavelengths.

“Justin,” after doing his research, came to the sales representative and offered to push a person down with the band off. He was not able to. After that, he pushed again, this time with the bracelet on the other man, and he toppled over. This left a very disgruntled salesman.
This was because “Justin” had researched the demonstration, and found out that with the right combination of pressure and balance, and since the subject is too busy focusing on balancing, this feat could be done by anybody.

“Justin” then wrote the “commitment and consistency” principle was at work as well, “where a person will go to great lengths to uphold a previously conceived notion” after being “completely amazed.”

Even so, he does not deny that the placebo effect still holds true.