Meek said the opportunity to get out of the club, together, was a “breath of fresh air”.
“So I think it’s about 90 degrees, sit in the sauna and sweat it out, and then get in the ice bath, which is about 3 degrees, and it’s good for your body, good for your muscles, supposedly. So… no stem cell injections or anything like that,” Meek said.
Hawks vice captain Dylan Moore has re-signed for four more years.Credit: Getty Images
Tennis stars have used Super Young while in Melbourne for the Australian Open, according to Sternson, who notes that NBA teams and the likes of the Dallas Cowboys have cryotherapy chambers, which he says would cost around $200,000 each.
Does this freezing therapy really work in aiding recovery?
Hawks star Will Day is out for the rest of the season.Credit: AFL Photos
“It’s a great question. I’m not sure,” said Meek.
“I think that with all these things, like, as a player, you’re looking for all the 1 per cent gains you can accumulate over the course of your week.”
Meek’s rationale for the players doing the cryotherapy was as follows: “I think it’s just about giving back to your body… We spend so much time demanding, like training loads and game loads from our body, like, the more time you can put into your recovery.
“Then, like, that accumulates over the course of a season… you get to this point in the year and you’re banged up and really needing the spell, or, are you all right, still having a run around, kicking, feeling good and ready to attack the most important time of the year?
Tristan Sternson.Credit: Josh Robenstone
Meek added: “It’s been a good, like, social factor as well… We all get to go have a coffee together and chat about the week.”
Meek said he found the ice bath, in which the body is subjected to about 3 degrees – well shy of the minus 110 – tougher than the much colder chamber.
“Well, it’s funny… the ice bath is substantially harder. I would say, really, yeah, like a five-degree ice bath is so much harder than the negative [110].”
Sternson, 45, does undergo stem cell transfusions in the United States, consulting an American longevity doctor, as part of his wellbeing regime, which he says is quite different from the needs of professional athletes.
“I’ve got a goal to live as best as I can for as long as I can,” he explained.
Under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code, many forms of stem-cell therapy are banned.
Asked about the efficacy of the cold treatment for athletes, Sternson said: “You wouldn’t come back if it didn’t work. Anything you do to recover is fantastic.”
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