Do those Phiten titanium necklaces actually enhance athletic ability and promote healing?
Asks Alex from NYC
Stuart Fox • October 6, 2008
![Can Phiten necklaces make you win a baseball game? Is voodoo real? <br>[Credit Alan Sung]](https://scienceline.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/1192130226_ff0fa9ce4f_b.jpg)
Can Phiten necklaces make you win a baseball game? Is voodoo real?
[Credit Alan Sung]
With baseball heading toward the World Series and the NFL just getting started, not a day goes by without a televised sporting event. And people watching those games may notice an odd fashion accessory: the Phiten titanium necklace. The necklaces are sported most prominently by Matt Hasselbeck of the Seattle Seahawks, Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees and Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox, who believe that they enhance their physical and mental abilities. And they probably do, but more for psychological than physiological reasons.
In 1982 Yoshihiro Hirata, an alternative medicine practitioner, founded Phiten, the company that sells his titanium-infused products. The necklaces first gained prominence in Japan, where they are still popular with athletes. According to the company, the necklaces and bracelets work by stabilizing the electric flow that nerves use to communicate actions to the body. “All of the messages in your body travel through electricity, so if you’re tired or just pitched nine innings, the electricity isn’t flowing as smoothly as it can,” said Joe Furuhata, a Phiten spokesman. “Our products smooth out those signals.”
While many sports stars believe the necklaces give them luck, not everyone is convinced. Many doctors and scientists say there is no scientific evidence supporting Phiten’s theory. “There’s no science and physiology,” said Dr. Orrin Sherman, chief of sports medicine at the New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases. “There’s just no way the chemical structure of the body can be influenced by magnets that small. It’s all superstitions with no scientific basis.”
Sherman noted that when people interact with magnets far more powerful than the Phiten necklaces, like the magnets in a CT (computerized tomography) scan machine, for instance, they do not report any of the effects pitchers and quarterbacks say they receive from the necklace.But while the physiology behind the necklaces doesn’t hold up to scientific scrutiny, that doesn’t mean they do not help. Athletes are a superstitious lot. From Craig Biggio, who did not wash his batting helmet for an entire season, to Wade Boggs, who would only eat chicken before games, athletes love all manners of hokum and voodoo. If the players think they are getting an advantage from the necklace and that gives them increased confidence, then they do in fact get a positive boost from the product. “You’ve gotta believe in placebo effect,” said Sherman.
So maybe science shouldn’t stop Hideki Okajima of the Boston Red Sox from wearing three necklaces whenever he takes the mound. Sure, the necklaces don’t actually alter the electric flow in the body, but as any player who has stopped shaving during the playoffs can attest, when you’re winning, you don’t want to change a thing.
254 Comments
do cucumbers taste better pickled?
I was always skeptic, but it proved to be working for me. This morning I had a sharp pain on my shoulder (from playing badminton two days in a row :( ). It hurt so much that I couldn’t brush my teeth my right arm. So I thought of this ion wristband that I got. I put it on my wrist and brush my teeth with my left arm. And before I finish brushing my teeth, I could feel wristband is working ‘cos the sharp pain is 80% gone! I was really impressed. (that’s why I googled Phiten and read about how it works, and found article on this page.) It’s really amazing. I think i’m gonna get the phiten necklace too.
I do Cross Country, and I ache in pain, run out of breathe sometimes, and of course, run alot. So, as you know, we run two miles in meets. I didn’t have a Phiten in the beginning, so I always gave up alot. The first day I got mine… BOOM! No need for stopping, I improved… ALOT! Wow… Thank you Yoshihiro Hirata for inventing this amazing device. Even if it’s all in our heads that it works, you really boosted up our self-confidence, thank you:)
ok. So my son plays ice hockey. all his other friends play baseball, so this phiten thing is only told to us by his 12 yr. old friends and moms that swear by it and now he wants one too. My question: are these necklaces for pain or for performance? and are there any phyical side affects that are known that would make it unsafe or unhealthy for my kid to wear it?? somebody..please respond…..
I dropped a deuce yesterday and now I feel much better. Thanks Phiten. And thanks Austin, ya douche.
Scientist dont want to believe in anything that they cant prove. So if they say the necklaces dont work, it’s probably because they evolved from monkeys.
RICK, you sound like a true philosopher and Renaissance man! To heck with those consarned scientists and their high-fallutin’ “knowledge” and “evidence.” Bah, says I! Further says I, if someone with a profit motive says something is true, believe it and open your wallet!
I sprained my tongue while making out with my neighbor’s wife. It hurt like the dickens and a half! OUCH!! My son has a couple of Phiten necklaces, and I covertly borrowed one and sucked on it all day long at work. In addition to the salt of my offspring’s perspiration, I absolutely detected the flavor or healingness! After my third day of sucking on my son’s Phiten, the pain was gonzo and my tongue took on the strenth of the tongues of four men! I could lick stuff much harder than before, and even managed four tongue push-ups!!
As for the science, I did a little reading and assuming and determined that Phiten uses a top-secret Eastern technique to imbue their wares with such power. It’s the carbo-choadarian fecalterol immersion that does it . . followed by three months of proto-calcilerium exposure in a hermetically sealed florganic vacuum-chamber. But, heck, I don’t really understand all that. I do understand that I’ve never felt more like making out with my neighbor’s wife!!
Zackery: Running 30K in 3hrs 30mins doesn’t qualify you as a runner. You should just give it up. A blind man with one leg hopping backwards probably goes faster.
Or maybe you just need to buy more products. Forget this Phiten rubbish. Strap on a couple of industrial strength magnets and stand on the road shoulder of a busy highway for an instant PB. Hell, I’ll even sell you the magnets myself for a modest 4000% markup.
Do let me know if you are keen on those magnets.
Maganda phiten no! Dun sa mga nagsasabing hindi effective Phiten, mga putang ina kayong mga pokpok kayo!
PUTANG INA NYO!! MOTHER FUCKERS!!!
I have learned some new stuff about my phiten necklace. Also, I have it all the time and it seems to me like it doesn’t work. I think people only have them for the looks. I have mine on all the time because; it is like my good luck necklace. Still, I don’t see how it helps you at all. Everyone I know has got one and them say it doesn’t do what is says it will do. They just get one for the looks because everyone has one. So what wrong with my necklace if it is not doing what is says it will do? If you could comment back and tell me I would greatly appreciate it.
Evidence or not, scientists have done studies that have proved that the placebo effect has worked on patients with ongoing pain. If you believe the necklace is working for you, awesome. As for the skeptics, don’t be cruel. I may not have a degree in biology (science was never my best subject), but I do have a degree in Marketing and I’ll say this, even scientists and doctors are in the marketing business. Scientists develop the medicines that pharmaceutical companies sell to the doctors who convince you, you need to take. If a pain pill doesn’t work, they give you a stronger one. If this doesn’t work, they have you try that. There’s usually an aid to the symptoms, never really a cure. Colds always come back and cancer typically holds the possibility of going into remission. Even though, as scientists, you mean well by trying to inform everyone that these necklaces don’t work, ultimately, aren’t you in the money making business as well? The only difference is, buying a necklace is optional, avoiding a doctor is not.
(idiots)
you’re an idiot for correcting. NOBODY cares (: mk? thanks
I love these things, they at least give a psycological confidence boost if not a provent physical advantage… and hey if you dont believe in them dont buy them.
George,
Yes, regular people can understand scientific studies. All that’s needed is an adequate, thorough study and a little bit of knowledge of statistics. A genuinely interested person is fully capable of coming to an educated decision with modest effort.
I like how almost all of the people posting favorably for these hack science contraptions consistently misspell simple words, use smilies, and consistently fail to use an uppercase I. Coincidence?
I’m a 40+ mile a week runner and am training for the NYC Marathon. I wear the necklace because it looks cool, and maybe it will provide some pain relief in my legs from my training. If it works, great, it not, so what?
5.I was skeptical of these necklaces at first and regardless if its a placebo effect or not, millions on people are wearing Phiten necklaces which has to say something. http://www.GoPhiten.com has cheap phiten.
Phiten, November 4, 2008 at 10:55 am
Indeed it says something that so many people are wearing these necklaces. It says P.T. Barnum underestimated the frequency at which suckers re born.
Scott
I am i chemistry graduate and the only plausible way i could see the neckless being benificial is by the ions creating a positive magnetic effect(the ion would have to be a cation) that could disrupt the electrical signals leading to the brain (which would be a electron). If you really wanted to test this you could take a thin refridgerator magnet and tape it to the back of your neck. essentially it’d be the same thing and itd be a free way to try it out. Also the magnet would have a stronger effect then the neckless so it should take a shorter time to work. Thats just my theory though.
Just having spinal fusion at the end of August, wearing one of the Phiten necklaces has increased the turning radius of my neck along with very little pain. These necklaces were created for a reason and everyone can have their own opinion, but unless you have tried it, don’t knock it.
If it works for people, then great. No more aches or pains. That is evidence enough for the believers out there that it works. For those who do not believe, are still critical, and skeptical, I would suggest to test yourself. Try it out. As far as I see it, there isn’t evidence to disprove the “powers” or science of the phiten necklace or products like it. Disprove it. Don’t mock it.
Hey, why are all of the BELIEVERS reading all this crap ?? IF you believe, you know it works for you. All the NON-BELIEVERS are crazy for reading all of this TRIPE … if you don’t believe, why do you feel the need to offer your dumb ass comments ??
I came and read because one of my students had one on today and told me it relaxes his muscles. I laughed. I’m still laughing.
This product could be dangerous. “Radium” is also one of those that could cure something. While Phiten might be able to remove body pains, etc. There is no study of prolong use….
so we will never know that someday… some people who uses this might develop cancer of the mouth, throat or the neck…… Scary… your jaw might just one day fell off. hehe! If near your ball… you might become sterile… it might remove the pain to the point that you wont have any sensory feeling down there.
Like alcohol or drugs… if you want to take pain away… this is way better than phiten.
So.. there should also be a disclaimer like… Use the product at your own risk!
my friends have phiten necklaces and since they have had them they have been way different. they have acted really relaxedd…sooo they do actually work!
It’s pseudoscience. Anyone with an ounce of education in physical science knows that a piece of metal with magnets has nothing to do with pain or balance. Save your money and working on strengthening your core muscles. Do some crunches. It doesn’t cost anything and actually works. Ever heard of the placebo effect? That’s all this is. As for why so many people believe it works, people are idiots.
I googled Phiten as I recently found a bracelet that I bought about 5 years ago for a wrist injury I picked up playing football (soccer, to some of you).
I was at a sports event here in the UK, and there was a Phiten stall. This Chinese person asked (in broken English) where I had an injury, I showed them, and they put this bracelet on my wrist and (I know this sounds odd) but my dodgy wrist kind of clicked into place and instantly felt better! I know this sounds really weird, but that’s how it happened (no I’m not a Phiten salesman!). I bought one and got given a few other things, including Phiten patches and also Phiten liquid (?!?!) but the bracelet is the only thing I used. After that I wouldn’t say this really benefitted me, but I wore it for quite a while and it didn’t do any harm.
A friend showed me those new Balance Band / Power Band things with the hologram, a friend had a go and did different streches before and after putting the band on and it seemed to work. The ones on eBay seem fake IMO. If you don’t want people to see you are wearing them, you can get a clear one.
idk if these things work or not. i just know that lots of people are getting them so i got one. i just like how they look. i guess if u believe they work then they work but if u don’t believe then it work
I used to get lost sometimes; my Grandmother gave me a St. Christopher medal. I haven gotten lost since. => I believe in St Christopher.
Furthermore, I think he means MRI, not CT.
Being the average 15 yr. old I really didn’t believe in these things at all but my pal gave me one and I tried to believe the magical necklace would work and I guess trying to believe it would work, made it work haha. It may all be in my head but with it being in my head I do feel better and more relaxed. If you can find a cheap one and think it works it is GREAT for baseball. Just don’t get a white one cuz the other team can cry about it being the color of the ball and make you take it off!!!
Take NACL and you’ll have an ionic reaction. That’s table salt!!
Twist any two different metal wites such as copper and aluminum together and you’ll get the same result as titanium.
Breating in oxygen and exhaling CO2 creats ions. Deep breaitng exercises can help with some physical relief, especially muscle fitigue.
Some posts said it would hinder neuron firing in the brain. That’s DANGEROUS!!! How would ones neurons know which are good to stop from firing and which aren’t.
Put your hand on something hot and signals go thru your nerves to the brain, which activate neurons, which in turn create the feedback to move your hand before it gets burned. People are getting burned by spending money on such nonsense.
Alzheimers is partially due to a decreaee in neural connections caued by plaque buildup.
I’ve had pain from lower back injuries and failed surgery for over 10 years. I also have chronic regional pain syndrone as well as fibromyalgia. Someone gave me one of the titanium necklaces for Christmas. I have had more pain snce I tried it.
Some sites claim titanium makes your hair more curly, which means it is stiffer, while others claim it makes your hair softer. Some claim it removes plaque from your teeth. There are many other miracle medical claims for this metal, but no medical proof.
Save your money and learn to eat healthier and exercise more and you’ll feel better.
am i saying it works maybe maybe not. I have a bad back and have worn one for the past year and the back pain is less severe. For the people who are talking of science and simple medicine they are just lost. The western world is not the entire world as you so called educated people seem to think. If it is something that can not be explained it is fake come on here. Up until several years ago acupuncture was seen similarly. It had been used in the eastern world for centuries. When introduced to the west doctors laughed at it “how can needles do anything.” HMMMMM but now it is in medical journals and is commonly used to remedy. Do they work who knows but you have to keep an open mind even you so called educated hahaha people. Take an intro level history course on the east or a philosophy class.
Good marketing and famous endorsers is all it takes.
To the recently graduated scientists.. I am an old science and only your ignorance rules out something you don’t understand.. Until you understand how the body works don’t underestimate things you don’t understand. All science is important especially what you don’t know.. Don’t give scientists a bad name.
Well Im not sure about Phitens…… Because well radiation Since when have radiation been good???!!!
Hey S.F. Giants Fans, players and execs.
How about dropping Phiten from your promotions ? Those of you who push this crap sound ridiculous and it truly reflects ignorance. Don’t you think we’ve had enough ignorance with 9/11, etc.? Maybe you have a business associate who knows of something honest to promote. This will hurt your sales, including at MLB.com Do the right thing and people will respect you for it. Peace
As a 48 year old, I have the usual aches and pains of an ex athlete. I wear a Phiten necklace and one day my knee was aching so I tied it around my knee. Within 10 minutes, my knee pain went away. Be skeptical if you wish but don’t knock it until you try it. I may pull a Favre and come out of retirement!
I am 75 and a dyed in the wool skeptic. However I have always said I would try anything once so I bought a $20 necklace on line at a friend’s suggestion. For over 10 years I have been plagued with severe pain in my right shoulder which varied only by degree. I have tried injections, physical theraphy, pills and everything else imaginable. I am a golfer and playing seems to make the pain worse, but I won’t quit my golf so I have to suffer. Anyway I ordered the necklace as I was in severe pain every waking moment. The day the necklace came I took 2 Aleve about 9:00AM, but they didn’t do much to help. In the late afternoon I was watching TV, holding my arm to my stomach, and on the scale of 1-10 I was at a 7. Pure misery. They the UPS guy showed up to deliver the necklace. I put it on immediately and within one hour my pain had diminised by 90%. I have had the necklace for about a week and my pain is still at about the 2 level, which is something I can live with. Is it a placebo effect? I don’t know! But I do know I am almost pain free. So for all of you naysayers, if you haven’t tried it don’t knock it until you do.
I had one of those neckleaces as a gift. When I would wear it I would get a lot of energy and I would be horny as all hell im not kidding either. On ther other hand the moment i took it off I would feel like crap. I had to stop wearing it in the end tho because for one i was too horny for my girlfriend lol and i just hated the fact that if i took it off to sleep i would feel like crap while it was off
Whether Phiten technology agrees with “science”, or it is deemed “pseudo-science” or “voodoo”, name calling doesn’t do anything for anyone. If it works, it works. Placebo is a fantastic remedy, as is medicine, nature, and infinite other options.
This is a fine reflection of Western scientific discourse that so many here are not satisfied without so-called hard evidence and numbers. What would this prove? Still it wouldn’t mean it works for everyone. Science has it’s merits, granted, but it tends to over-look and disqualify everything else. It is a dominant Western paradigm that really shouldn’t be so boistrous, especially as it has lead us to this pitiful global state. I digress… I recently bought some of their products and they work great for me. Say no more.
This one of the funniest discussion threads I’ve read in a long while. I’m wearing a titanium neck chain and honestly, I’m just loving it. Health benefits or not, titanium is a great looking metal – light, durable, not I love its dark hue.
One problem about you skeptics out there is that you think ‘modern science’ is the be-all-and-end-all. I believe there is more to this world than just Newtonian physics, modern medicine, freudian psychology etc. As one of the posters wrote above, doctors today still can’t figure out traditional Chinese medical practice … but it works. Some things just can’t be quantified (yet) by modern science.
So meanwhile I keep an open mind but I’m not expecting a miraculous improvement to my golf swing just because I wear my chain.
I HAVE CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN CAUSED BY LORDOSIS (OVER ARCHED SPINE). I DO PILATES, WEAR A LUMBAR SUPPORT AND APPLY DIFFERENT BRANDS OF LINIMENT TO HELP WITH THE DISCOMFORT. OUT OF CURIOSITY, I ENTERED A PHITEN STORE IN HONG KONG AND WAS GIVEN 2 CIRCLE PHITEN TAPE SAMPLES. KNOWING I WON’T LOSE ANYTHING IF I TRIED, I TAPED IT TO MY LOWER BACK AND COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT IT. MY HUSBAND NOTICED THAT I NEVER COMPLAINED ABOUT ANY BACK PAIN THROUGHOUT THE TRIP. AND THOSE WITH LORDOSIS CAN ATTEST THAT SHOPPING FOR US IS SIMPLY A NIGHTMARE FOR OUR BACKS. I WAS A SKEPTIC, BUT PHITEN WORKS FOR ME!
These necklaces are the best things ever made.
Ok Let Me Get Something Straight they R BS!
Years ago I severely sprained my left wrist. A few years later I had a accident with a drill press in a machine shop and really did a good job of messing up my middle finger on the same hand.
I managed to heal from both of those events but the wrist would ache off and on through out the day and the middle finger would ache every once in a while. They both would really ache when it was about to rain.
My wife has watched me rub my left wrist almost every day and suggested that I try Phiten to see if it helped. One of her girlfriends suggested it to her as it was helping her husband.
I’m not a sports fan by any means and hadn’t heard about Phiten before. So I was skeptical to say the least.
I found one that was fairly discreet and didn’t have all the MLB symbols on it. (X30 Edge) The sales staff let me try it on and see how it worked as we shopped through the store. The weather was changing and promising rain (it really delivered the next day) and my wrist and middle finger were really aching. Within 15 minutes I noticed that the aching had stopped in both my wrist and finger. That ache stays with me all though the rain usually. It has been over a week now and still my wrist and finger have not ached as they normally would do.
I may return and get a necklace as I had also dislocated my right shoulder a year ago and had neck pain from a car accident years ago. While that pain seems lessened it isn’t totally gone so I’m willing to get the necklace to see if it is totally gone.
I hadn’t noticed that I’ve gained more energy or super powers :) but the Phiten bracelet has really helped with the pain in my wrist and finger.
I tried one of these but my headaches did NOT go away, my energy levels did NOT increase nor did I feel anything different. After 3 days, 3 hours and 3 min of wearing it though, something AMAZING happened, I realized that I could fly! I am so amazed with my new flying abilities and my super human strength. The secret was to wear it for exactly 3 days, 3 hours and 3 min without showering or getting wet at all and then, flight time!
Why is Eileen yelling? And superman, good for u. And Austin, please refrain from ever again posting on any message board or in any type of forum again. Ever. Thanks. I have one. Idk if it works for real but if I get cancer, alzheimers, or any other crazy crap I’m gonna be pissed. I was glad to hear this heals aids and herpes too. I can’t remember who put that up on the wall but I completely believe that too. I think everybody should get herpes and go buy a phiten necklace to get healed. Or go and buy one first then just have unprotected, unrestrained sex. These necklaces most likely prevent std’s too.
Hi all.
I saw the Phiten necklaces on the pros. Looked cool. Heard they were wearing them because of the claims. I thought there is no way that titanium could help a person with pain. I was having terrible foot pain from plantar faciaitis(sp) at the same time. I work in a machine shop and have access to titanium. So, I cit a piece out and carried it around with me all day for a week. My pain problem completely went away! And I really did not do much to get rid of the PF. Some ice, some strectching. That was not working for me. I belive the titanium helped, one way or another. Placebo effect or not, it worked for me.
I have cut other pieces for some friends. The one with a more serious problem, neck and knee problems, it did not help. My brother who has messed up discs in his back, it has helped quite a bit. A friend with shoulder and elbow pain, it
worked great for him. He even thought that if the titanium made contact with his skin, it even worked better. Who knows?
All I know is the titanium worked for me.
I know wear a Phiten X30 necklace and also carry a small piece of titanium in my pocket for that extra quantity.
Good luck all.
hello
first of all, i was skeptical about product necklace. i suffer neck pain many yaers. 4 days week workout makes it more bad, massage and doan’s pain relief did not work. i must tell you of how my idol introduced me to the titanium miracle. one night, while blowing lines with dan marino in the back of runway 84, the hero shared with me the secret of landing the role of “dan marino” in the hit comedy ace ventura pet detective. did you know that he beat out harrison ford and dennis quaid? anyway, he said that the miracles titanium necklace that he wore at the audition improved his acting ability and that it was at the time a trinket a desert storm vet had given him as a gift to wear for good luck. well, dan marino gave me the necklace that night and i was able to snorts coke in the back of runway 84 for more longer than ever.