Hatters put their success down to arthritis beaters!

Wrist bands for players

LUTON Town footballers have adopted a new secret weapon - wearing magnetic wrist bands designed to combat arthritis.

The devices, which are worn round the wrist like a watch strap, have been used in recent games by some of the players.       

And it has coincided with an upturn in results, including dumping Premiership side Derby County out of the Coca Cola Cup, after a disappointing start to the season.

Club spokesman Simon Oxley said: "They have been wearing them for the last few weeks. Clive Goodyear, the physio, says some of them do feel it has been beneficial.

"Some players swear by them, others don't bother. Perhaps it's just superstition because we've been having better results.                           

"I'm not a great physicist but I would just be dubious. You could give them different colour underpants to wear and if we kept winning they would say it works.

"There's a lot of  superstition in football about what you wear and what order you put things on and coming out of the tunnel last, and all that sort of thing."

The club has so far bought 19 of the £30.00 wrist bands from Milton Keynes-based firm Cultren Services, after initially experimenting with just a couple.

Made of black nylon with a magnet inside, they are said to benefit fitness by improving oxygen flow.

There has been a similar craze among professional footballer of wearing nose plasters, meant to prevent snoring, which are supposed to have the same effect.

Trevor Cullip, of Cultren Services, said: "What the band does is ionise the blood and allow oxygen to get into the blood much more quickly so increasing your energy level.

"That's obviously of great benefit to anybody involved in sport. It increases energy levels towards the end of a game."