Drew Brees wears one. Lamar Odom wears one.  Shaquille O’Neal swears by them.  Even Robert De Niro has one on at all times.  What is this item that they all share in common?  A simple little bracelet called Power Balance.

     What is a Power Balance?  Power Balance’s website promotes their product, with a retail price of $29.95, as a “performance technology designed to work with your body’s natural energy field.  Founded by athletes, Power Balance is a favorite among elite athletes for whom balance, strength, and flexibility are important.”  How does the Power Balance manage to accomplish all of that - by optimizing the body’s natural energy flow through the use of a hologram on the band that is designed to “resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body?”  A hologram that can alter the natural energy field of the body?  Sounds a little too good to be true.  But not only do hundreds of athletes swear by them, numerous Northshore High School students can also be seen wearing these sporty looking bracelets around.  Sydney Melhado, a senior at Northshore, said that, “[Power Balance] definitely improves flexibility.  I’ve had the tests done on myself and other people and I’ve seen them work.  People don’t expect them to, and they’re genuinely surprised when they can reach further or stand straighter than they could before.”

     Many people have seen the numerous high profile ads and wondered to themselves: Do those colorful bands actually work?  Through the testimony of not only celebrities around the world, but also people from the local community, it would seem that the answer is a resounding “yes.”  And then there comes the “but.”

     Last week, Power Balance was questioned by Australian authorities and quoted as saying, “We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims.”  So, there’s the answer then it seems – Power Balance does not work.  But why do so many people claim that they do then?  That answer lies a lot deeper than most people think, hidden within the placebo effect.  By the owners actually believing that the bracelet is helping them, their brain manages to convince the body that something has changed, similar to the medical effect when patients are given sugar pills but are led to believe that they are cures, and end up improving drastically. 

     Then what’s the final solution to this problem?  It seems the bracelets work…because the owners want and believe them to work.  The Power Balance is fancy and high-tech looking, but works more for its effect on the wearer’s mental state rather than their physical state.  In the end, the Power Balance is just an example of mind over matter.