In my golf equipment review of the TrionZ dual therapy bracelet I didn't agree with Steve Shaw about the 100% placebo effect as I thought that the product absorbs an amount of impact during the striking of the ball and this helps with tendinitis, the claims of the product increasing club head speed are nonsense this can only be done by good swinging and practice. What I like about the product is that it gives me awareness of where my wrists are during the swing which helps in setting the club and I wear the bracelet on both wrists. One weird fact is that since wearing the bracelets I don’t get any cramp pains that I class as tendinitis but this could maybe be due to not drinking alcohol and my body getting used to hitting loads of balls. Another factor is that most of my hitting at the moment is taking place off mats which at most ranges have concrete underneath so many of the impacts for bad swings could have resulted in the jarring and hence with better ball striking less jarring therefore less tendinitis.

In my golf equipment review of the TrionZ dual therapy bracelet I’ve been thinking hard for some time about how to describe my thoughts on this product. Its essentially an elasticated cloth bracelet with magnets attached. The theory is that negative magnetic fields will “naturally improve the flow of blood and oxygen to areas of injury to facilitate healing and cell regeneration”. There is also a lot of information given about helping to rebalance the mind, body and soul. Rory McIlroy wears one, and endorses it.

Perhaps asking someone like myself to review this product was bound to result in a very critical appraisal, given my medical background (I’m a doctor). But given the fact Rory is a golfer I admire, and I’m a keen golfer prepared to consider anything that will improve my own game, I gave it a go and wore it continuously for a week. The first thing that I’ll report is that it definitely contains magnets. I found this out by going to the Trafford centre one day, which resulted in me setting off every security gate I passed through. I actually got searched in Boots by the security guard who thought I was on the steal.

Then I had a round of golf, and played really well in what I have to say were very challenging conditions. I probably hit the ball as well as I have done all this year. That got me thinking about the bracelet in more detail. Here are my conclusions:

The concept of magnetic fields causing health benefits are unfounded and without any good evidence. I work intermittently in the close vicinity of magnetic fields many MILLION times stronger than these bracelets (MR scanners) and feel no health benefit. I actually had a scan on my knee several months ago, which diagnosed a torn medial cartilage. It took half an hour to do, and when I got out the scanner, it felt just as bad as it did before I went in. However, this is not what the benefits from such bracelets is about, and how it truly works. Yes, you heard me right - I do feel that many people WILL perceive benefits from it. Not because of magnetic fields, but because of the power of the mind. You only have to read one of Bob Rotella’s books to understand that the game of golf is 90% mental, 10% physical. Slight negative thought patterns can have a devastating consequence on your game. Anything that can give you a mental advantage should be seized upon as a positive. The same phenomenon is seen in the medical field – its called the placebo effect. It is a very real experience of symptomatic benefit, despite being a “dummy tablet”.

Therefore, when it comes to the TrionZ bracelet, I wont ridicule anyone for wearing one. In fact you’ll probably see me wearing this one on my next round. Just don’t wear it shopping !