冷凍療法到底值不值得?

Is it worth it? Cryotherapy

冷凍療法到底值不值得？

What is it? Stripping down to your pants and spending three minutes in a room chilled to –85C. No, wait, come back – it’s good for you.

這是什麼？脫下衣服只剩褲子，然後在零下85度的房間裏待三分鐘。不，等一下，別走——這對你有好處。

How much does it cost? Two sessions at Cryoclinics in a BMI private hospital in Hendon, north London (one of the only full-body cryotherapy units in the country) costs 50.

這需要花費多少錢呢？在倫敦北部的亨頓BMI一個私人醫院的冷凍室（全國唯一一家全身冷凍治療機構）做兩個療程需要花費50英鎊。

What does it promise? There are two ways to approach full-body cryotherapy. If you suffer from inflammation, due to either disease or injury, it can relieve pain and improve joint function. But if you’re an athlete, it’s a tool to accelerate recovery, limit muscle damage and enhance performance. The theory is that bursts of extreme cold allow serious athletes to train harder. Mo Farah apparently uses cryotherapy, as do most top-flight sport clubs.

它有什麼作用呢？全身冷凍治療適用於兩種情況。如果你遭受炎症的痛苦，不管是疾病還是受傷，它都可以減輕痛苦，改善關節的功能。但是如果你是一個運動員，這就是加速癒合，減少肌肉損傷，提高表現的好方法。它的理論依據是，突然的極端寒冷讓危急的運動員可以更強烈地訓練。長跑運動員Mo Farah顯然用了冷凍療法，大多數一流的運動俱樂部同樣如此。

What’s it actually like? It’s cold. You strip down to your shorts, put on gloves, socks and a hat, and step into the cryochamber. God, it’s cold. Time slows to a crawl as your extremities start to sting. You look down. Your chest hair has gone white. You’re pretty sure that your eyelids have started to freeze. All you’re aware of, mentally and physically, is the cold. But then it’s done and you step out, and the blood rushes back to your extremities and you’re invigorated. The soreness in your limbs from that morning’s workout has left your body. You feel supercharged. You can’t wait to get back in. Then you do, and immediately regret it. God, it’s cold.

冷凍療法究竟是什麼樣的呢？很冷。你脫下衣服只剩短褲，穿上手套，襪子和一頂帽子，然後走進冷凍室。天啊，真冷。當你的骨頭開始刺痛，你會覺得時間度秒如年。你向下看，會發現你的胸毛已經變白了。你很確信自己的眼睫毛也被凍住了。精神和肉體上意識到的只有寒冷。但是當結束後走出來，血液重新衝進你的骨端，你感到煥發新生。白天練習帶給你的四肢痠痛全部離開。你感覺到了超能量。你忍不住想要再進去。然後你這麼做了之後會馬上後悔。天啊，太冷了。

Is it worth it? If you’re seriously training for something, it might be worth the investment.

這究竟值不值得呢？如果你很認真的爲某事訓練着，這或許是值得投資的。

譯文屬原創，未經允許，不得轉載。