Abstract
The Power Balance Bracelet is marketed as a way to increase an athlete'sperformance in strength, flexibility and balance. The purpose of this study was to
examine the validity of the Power Balance Bracelet manufacturer's claims. Twenty male
Division I athletes from Eastern Illinois University performed four tests on three
different dates. The first session was a control trial and the subsequent sessions were
performed with either the Power Balance bracelet or the placebo bracelet. Treatment
order was assigned randomly with one half performing with the Power Balance and one
half performing with the placebo bracelet in the second and third sessions in a double
blind fashion. The tests included one repetition maximum for bench press, Illinois agility
test, sit-and reach test and vertical jump. No significant differences among trials were
found for the Illinois agility test (F(2,17) = 0.447, p = .643), sit and reach flexibility test
(F(2,l 7) = 1.560, p=.223), or in vertical jump (F(2,l 7) =.534, p=.591). A significant
difference among trials was found for chest press I RM (F(2,l 7) = 11.895, p < .000).
Pairwise comparisons revealed that the I RM for both the placebo and Power Balance
trials was significantly higher than for the control trial (p=.001). However there was no
significant difference in 1 RM between the placebo bracelet and Power Balance bracelet
trials. It was concluded that the use of the Power Balance Bracelet did not have a
significant effect on performance of chest press strength, agility, sit-and-reach flexibility
and vertical jump.
| Date of Award | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Original language | American English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Phyllis Croisant (Supervisor) |