DJ Eberle is a student/athlete at Western New England University. He is an offensive tackle, built like his dad; a rugby Prop. Track him on Twitter @Ebstide52
GDANSK, POLAND – When I sprained my foot at football practice in my junior year in high school, all the trainer said was “ice it.” After battling that injury for months, I would’ve given my good ankle for an alternative. Many of you out there play with and through similar types of injuries. Well, what if I told you there was an entirely new way to heal and relieve some of the pain after a rugby match? What if this new way made ice packs and ice baths look like child’s play? What if the place to go sounded like something Dr. Evil conjured up for Austin Powers? What if what I was talking about sent you to… The Cryogenic Chamber?
Cryogenic Chamber Therapy is a new way to heal ones body and is a new alternative to ice baths and ice packs. Cryogenic chamber therapy, also called Whole Body Cryrotheropy (WBC) involves the patient entering the chamber which is cooled by liquid nitrogen at the chilling temperatures of anywhere from -184 F to -256 F for roughly three minutes. The WBC chamber is the opposite of a sauna, because it is filled with dry ice and is at such a cold temperature. WBC improves various conditions, like muscle and joint pain, insomnia, and itching.
WBC was first used at an international sports level in 2000 when the Olympic rehabilitation center in Spala, Poland. The Wales rugby squad are also famously know to use this technique to heal.
“We have to cover up our extremities and wear special gloves, shorts and socks to guard against frost-bite,” captain Sam Warburton said. “There are also masks to put on to enable you to breathe because the air in there is too cold to take into your lungs.”
The WBC chambers are what gives the Welsh squad any hope of making a serious run at the RBS Six Nations tournament. With the squad already limited in numbers as it is, after losing Luke Charteris and Alun Wyn Jones and the health of Jamie Roberts and Danny Lydiate in limbo it will take a trip to the chambers just for Roberts and Lydiate to be healthy enough to compete.
The question I now ask… Would you be willing to go into a WBC chamber – an ice bath on steroids – just to get back on the field quicker?
