In an era where many professional athletes are turning to technologically advanced devices to accelerate the healing process, it is surprising to someone use older, more traditional methods to treat injuries. There are people like D.J. Williams who spend time in a hyperbaric chamber while other notable athletes have turned to cryotherapy as a method of healing that uses extremely cold temperatures. Still, there are some like Mickael Pietrus who prefer treatments that have been used for hundreds of years.
As the Sporting News pointed out on Thursday, Pietrus recently traveled to the Shaolin Temple in China to receive treatment on his knee, which he injured at the end of last season and caused him to miss 12 games. Shaolin Temple is a Buddhist monastery that has had its own hospital for more than 1,000 years. There, Pietrus tried “several traditional Chinese medicine therapies, including acupuncture, massage and some unique remedies administered by Shaolin monks,” according to the Chinese website www.whatsonxiamen.com.
Pietrus reportedly did not completel all the therapy, but he returned to France this week to resume practicing in the EuroBasket league. He said he is no longer experiencing pain in his knee. I, for one, tend to think that those methods of healing have been around for thousands of years because they work — not because people are too stubborn to get rid of them.
Chest bump to I Am a GM for passing the story along.
