New Therapy for Ricky Williams
| 9
|
by user Erooster
Ricky Williams has found a different way to heal the broken bone in his left forearm. Twice a day, he can be found in a private practice doctor's office located in St. Catharines, ON. In this office are hyperbaric chambers.
Williams spends 2 hours 15 minutes, twice a day, in one of the units. It is the hope of the player and of the doctor to have him back on the field soon. In this chamber, Ricky sits in a 100% oxygen environment at 2000 times the normal atmospheric pressure.
"He generally spends his time meditating, watching one of the overhead televisions or performing simple exercises with his left hand. No other objects, such as a book, are allowed inside the chamber," claims Sean Fitz-Gerald of the National Post.
"It's always nice to treat a professional athlete, and Ricky's very down to earth, he's very pleasant," said Dr. Michael Venneri, who heads the Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Institute. "It will speed the recovery time up by 60%, that's what we're hoping," Venneri said of the hyperbaric therapy.
I don't know about you all, but when I hear the term "hyperbaric chamber", I think of William Hurt in the movie 'Altered States'. For those that have no idea, skip this thought and/or go see the movie.
Williams, as has been documented here and elsewhere, is certainly familiar with altered states. Let's hope that he fares better that did Hurt in his experience.
But all kidding aside, hyperbaric chambers are nothing new for athletes. English soccer star Wayne Rooney used one to heal his broken foot prior to the World Cup. Terrell Owens is said to have flown one to his hotel room to help speed his recovery from an injured hamstring.
I hope that the device works well for Williams so that he can get back onto the field soon.
Date
Tue 08/15/06, 7:11 pm EST
