Monday, December 27, 2010

Power and Pain Relief - Alternative Medicine Claims - effectiveness of the latest wristbands fad

Being the ever inquirer to the extent of sceptical, I was hesitant to jump on the bandwagon of many miracle health bracelets, bands and necklaces. Despite endorsement by friends, atheletes and celebrities, it would be prudent to consider if you would want to join in the fad. Some had been censured by the authorities and deemed scams and hoaxes.

Quote :

The ubiquitous Power Balance band - which claims to use ''holographic technology'' to send energy flowing through the body - has become a talisman for some of the world's top sportsmen, including US basketballer Shaquille O'Neal and Real Madrid soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, as well as dozens of Australian AFL and NRL players.

The Australian Medical Association, however, yesterday dismissed this alleged benefit as ''biologically implausible'' and suggested the advertising regulator should investigate the claim.

The players are reluctant to explain why they use them but sports psychologists say the bands have a placebo effect - the players think the bands will improve their performance on the footy field, so they feel more confident and play better.

http://www.theage.com.au/sport/power-wristbands-might-be-the-biggest-scam-20100619-yo11.html

Some of these promises are sold between $10 to $100 online, television ads or expo. If you can get it for a good discount and depending on financial status and affordability, have a go at it. Nobody has the power or right to stop or discourage others from trying a novelty especially if the person suffers from soreness and pain which could not be treated by conventional means. Go on and determine from your personal experience.

In fact, to be scientific also entails keeping an open mind. I won't rule out that there may be some yet to be discoveries or explanations which makes it effective when used by certain people with of particular blood type, physical and mental constitution. There are different versions of health products with varying degrees of efficacy? How is one different from another? Is one's claim more credible than another?

Nevertheless, in the absence of concrete scientific studies done on a sizeable sample over time conducted by credible scholars and institutions, it has not even met the first level of alternative medicine.

Quote :

If at that date, no formal scientific study has proved the effect of the bracelet, the manufacturers have not hesitated to circulate videos of tests meant to prove the effectiveness of their "technology". Simple balance exercises are practiced. And each time, the conclusion is obvious: with the bracelet, guinea pigs are more resistant. Guillaume Barucq, there is a simple explanation: "It's childish. When trying this exercise twice, the muscles are more prepared the second attempt and we do it better. Add to that the placebo effect, which, even for conventional drugs, contributes to at least 30% of the power balance wristband effect ... " Guillaume Barucq, the problem of these power balance bracelet do not lie in their effects - real or imagined - but in how they are sold. "I do not deny that there may be an effect," says he, "but what shocks me is that we can sell this product by claiming that it has beneficial effects, without it has been approved by any scientist. I've seen people think that it could help cure Parkinson's disease "should not mix everything ..." Jean-Pierre Mondenard: "Their strength lies in the media," he slice. Manufacturer EFX side, we do not deny the lack of scientific evidence: "Studies will be made. But it is a very new power balance band technology and would take years, then ...", says one. Amazing defense when, on most sites that sell the bracelet, the principle is rightly described as "old" or even "old as the world, appeared in ancient Egypt," the site KeepKontrol.

http://www.powerbalanceaustralia.org/Placebo_effect__of_power_bracelet-n-180.html

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