Magic necklace or snake oil

Wesley college outfielder Rich Lober is sure the small charm around his neck is what he keeps him balanced and coordinated.
Whenever he plays, Lober wears his Phiten Titanium Necklace, and claims it helps him stay relaxed in the field, and he says several of his teammates use the product also. The company’s website claims the $32 necklace uses specially-engineered titanium to “emit energy that effectively controls your bio electric current.”
“I don’t know if it actually does works,” Lober said. “But I can definitely feel myself relax when I think, ‘I’m wearing my Phiten.’ I feel a little bit more relaxed than if I wasn’t wearing it.”
The Phiten necklace is one of many popular “performance-enhancing” accessories on the market, which are worn and endorsed by celebrity athletes such as the Phillies’ Shane Victorino and the New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony. Doctors and scientists doubt the product claims, saying the companies that make these products are selling snake oil.
“They don’t work,” Dr. Harriet Hall, a physician and medical columnist, said.
Hall said the concept of the body having an energy field is not supported by research, and that these companies are using scientific-sounding claims to scam customers.
“It’s the whole field of energy medicine — it’s bogus,” she said. “It’s based on the pre-scientific concept of life energy and they attach this frequency business onto it to make it sound like science.”
In recent years, the popularity of the performance-enhancing accessories has been on the rise.
The Power Balance features a holographic disk, and like the Phiten necklace, it is said to interact with the energy frequencies of the body
“It’s based on all those Eastern philosophies to create balance,” Selwyn said. It is designed to “help you feel your best,” although he would not say specifically what that means.
Locally, the wristbands are selling well in sporting goods stores.
“More and more people are telling their friends about it; they’re coming in asking for it,” said Nelson Duncan, a salesperson at Al’s Sporting goods in Wilmington.
Duncan wears a Power Balance bracelet himself and said he’s seen positive changes in many customers who try it on. Once, he said, a woman who needed assistance walking into the store became completely mobile after wearing the bracelet.
In the store, Duncan gives prospective buyers the “Power Balance test.” In the test, participants are asked to put their arms out and stand on one leg. The tester is then pushed and will usually fall off balance. Then, the tester puts on the Power Balance. When pushed again, the tester often does not fall.
“Whether it’s a mental thing — it could be — but I’ve seen it work,” Duncan said.
Power Balance has not released any studies on its product, but independent researchers have, and the results are not in the company’s favor. A study released in the March Journal of Sports and Science Medicine found that the holographic bands have no effect on flexibility, balance or strength.
“We replicated the testing they did, the same balance test, the same flexibility test, same strength test,” John Porcari, an exercise physiologist at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse said. However, unlike the Power Balance test, Porcari’s experiment adhered to scientific method.
Porcari found that the hologram imbedded bracelet was no better at improving performance than a 30-cent band from Walmart. He said the improvements seen in the Power Balance test are the result of the person being warmed up, not the plastic charm.
“If I try to push you over, and then try to push you over a second time, you know what’s coming, you start leaning the other way, stabilizing yourself,” Porcari said.
In January, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deemed Power Balance’s advertisements to be misleading, the company admitted that there is “no credible scientific” evidence behind its technology. Later that month, Power Balance came under fire again for its advertising claims in a class-action lawsuit in California.
Now, on its website, the company claims the hologram “reacts differently for different people.”
Lober admits that his Phiten charm is somewhat of a fashion statement. He bought the necklace after he saw professional athletes wearing it in the field.
“The kids are using them because they see the pros wear them on TV,” Lober said.
Athletes can be superstitious, and according to sports psychologist Joel Fish, if a person believes in the claims of the charms, they may actually affect performance.
“We call it self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Fish, director of the Center for Sports Psychology in Philadelphia. “If you believe something like this helps you, then it can help you. It doesn’t guarantee it, but the belief can go a long way.”
Any lucky charm with a perceived benefit will show the same effect, Fish said. It doesn’t have to be a bracelet.
“It doesn’t substitute at all for hard work, repetitions, getting rest, eating properly,” Fish said. “But if you got all those other bases covered and you think this helps — that’s fine.”
While Hall says these products are not harmful, she thinks the companies that make them are being deceptive.
“Science impresses people,” Hall said. “The average consumer doesn’t understand enough science to see what is wrong with these claims.”
Locally, the wristbands are selling well in sporting goods stores.
“More and more people are telling their friends about it; they’re coming in asking for it,” said Nelson Duncan, a salesperson at Al’s Sporting goods in Wilmington.
Duncan wears a Power Balance bracelet himself and said he’s seen positive changes in many customers who try it on. Once, he said, a woman who needed assistance walking into the store became completely mobile after wearing the bracelet.
In the store, Duncan gives prospective buyers the “Power Balance test.” In the test, participants are asked to put their arms out and stand on one leg. The tester is then pushed and will usually fall off balance. Then, the tester puts on the Power Balance. When pushed again, the tester often does not fall.
“Whether it’s a mental thing — it could be — but I’ve seen it work,” Duncan said.
Power Balance has not released any studies on its product, but independent researchers have, and the results are not in the company’s favor. A study released in the March Journal of Sports and Science Medicine found that the holographic bands have no effect on flexibility, balance or strength.
“We replicated the testing they did, the same balance test, the same flexibility test, same strength test,” John Porcari, an exercise physiologist at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse said. However, unlike the Power Balance test, Porcari’s experiment adhered to scientific method.
Porcari found that the hologram imbedded bracelet was no better at improving performance than a 30-cent band from Walmart. He said the improvements seen in the Power Balance test are the result of the person being warmed up, not the plastic charm.
“If I try to push you over, and then try to push you over a second time, you know what’s coming, you start leaning the other way, stabilizing yourself,” Porcari said.
In January, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deemed Power Balance’s advertisements to be misleading, the company admitted that there is “no credible scientific” evidence behind its technology. Later that month, Power Balance came under fire again for its advertising claims in a class-action lawsuit in California.
Now, on its website, the company claims the hologram “reacts differently for different people.”
Lober admits that his Phiten charm is somewhat of a fashion statement. He bought the power balance necklace after he saw professional athletes wearing it in the field.
“The kids are using them because they see the pros wear them on TV,” Lober said.
Athletes can be superstitious, and according to sports psychologist Joel Fish, if a person believes in the claims of the charms, they may actually affect performance.
“We call it self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Fish, director of the Center for Sports Psychology in Philadelphia. “If you believe something like this helps you, then it can help you. It doesn’t guarantee it, but the belief can go a long way.”
Any lucky charm with a perceived benefit will show the same effect, Fish said. It doesn’t have to be a power balance bracelet.
“It doesn’t substitute at all for hard work, repetitions, getting rest, eating properly,” Fish said. “But if you got all those other bases covered and you think this helps — that’s fine.”
While Hall says these products are not harmful, she thinks the companies that make them are being deceptive.
“Science impresses people,” Hall said. “The average consumer doesn’t understand enough science to see what is wrong with these claims.”