Power Balance

Power Balance is a brand of hologram bracelets once claimed by its manufacturers and vendors to "use holographic technology" to "resonate with and respond to the natural energy field of the body", and increase sporting ability. Numerous independent studies of the device found it to be ineffective for enhancing athletic performance, and the manufacturer was forced to retract its claims in 2010.

The product was promoted through paid celebrity endorsements and became a fad among professional sportsmen in 2010, leading one journalist to say that "a growing number of professional sportsmen and their attendants are starting to sound like New Age crystal healers."

Power Balance initially denied that they made any medical or scientific claims about their products, but after an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ruling, the Australian distributor of Power Balance was forced to recognize and retract their medical claims. The company has been the focus of significant criticism, particularly for false advertising. It has been described as "like the tooth fairy" and a "very successful marketing scam".

By the end of 2011 the company was reported to be on the edge of going out of business having paid out $57m to settle a lawsuit, in the course of which company executives acknowledged that their claims to improve strength and balance were bogus. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and subsequently failed, but the brand has been transferred to a new company, Power Balance Technologies.

In 2011, researchers from RMIT's School of Health Sciences reported the results of an independent, randomized and controlled trial with double blind design. They found no difference in balance between people using a holographic wristband and those wearing a placebo.

On October 28, 2010 Olympic champion gymnast Dominique Dawes, working for Yahoo Weekend News and Independent Investigations Group (IIG), tested Power Balance bracelets for their claim that they improve balance, flexibility and strength. According to IIG investigator Dave Richards "There was one 'legitimate' Power Balance bracelet, and 3 'sham' bracelets that had the hologram removed from them. The experiment was double-blinded, all bracelets were wrapped with tape so no one present knew which bracelet was real and which were fakes. Neither the participants nor the people recording the scores knew which bracelet was 'real' until after all participants had completed their runs and their scores were recorded." The results indicated that there was no benefit for those that had a real holographic bracelet compared to those who had a placebo.

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Wikipedia