(AP)
Remember the good ole days when athletes tried to heal their sports injuries with ice baths? Well, that’s still done today, but now there’s a new, high tech alternative to the ice tub called cryotherapy. It’s basically a box you get inside of and it freezes your body in a matter of seconds.
Does it work? Possibly.
Is it more expensive than ice and a tub? Definitely. But that doesn't matter to Alabama. As Michael Casagrande of Al.com reports, the Crimson Tide is experimenting with cryotherapy. A Tuscaloosa cryotherapy specialist was at Alabama's practice on Monday and players were getting into the fancy-schmancy machine.
Here’s what Denzel Devall told Casagrande.
"You know, I tried it one time," smiling Alabama linebacker Denzel Devall said. "I'm just old-fashioned, you know? Put me in the ice tub and I'm good to go. Cryotherapy does not… I like the ice tub, cold tub. That's me."
Center Ryan Kelly:
"Some of the side-effects are you start getting light-headed," Kelly said. "So as soon as I started getting light-headed I walked out."
According to the story, one sitting in the box can cost $35 and the prices skyrocket from there. Also, a medical expert said there’s no clear evidence cryotherapy is a “game-changer”.
To step in a machine that freezes the body to subhuman temperatures in record time sounds risky – especially if it’s not even known to be as effective as the traditional method. But it’s not like Alabama football is the first sports team to utilize this breaking technology, so maybe it’s worth the risk.
However, dipping into to a bucket of ice – while uncomfortable, no doubt – sounds a lot safer.
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