'No science' to back cryotherapy

NEWS:THE INCREASING use of cryotherapy chambers and ice baths for player recuperation and injury treatment has been questioned by the chair of the GAA's medical committee, Dr Pat Duggan.

Speaking at the launch of a player-welfare booklet in Croke Park yesterday, Dr Duggan stated: "Essentially what we're saying is right now there is not a shred of evidence from a scientific point of view to support any of these . . . and therefore from a GAA perspective, to take the demands off management and administrators, there is no science to support them."

Since 2000 the use of cryotherapy has been favoured by the IRFU (though in the wake of Ireland's disappointing form at the World Cup and Six Nations, it is under review), the national squad visiting the chambers in Spala, Poland, several times.

The IRFU director of fitness, Liam Hennessy, has said it is used not for injury treatment or rehabilitation but only to promote faster recovery from training.

White's hotel and spa in Wexford houses the only cryotherapy unit here and has had regular visits from injured GAA players in the past two seasons. And the Wales rugby coach Warren Gatland will bring his squad there next week as they prepare for their two tests in South Africa in June.

Cryotherapy, from the Greek and meaning "cold cure", is the application of extreme cold to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue. A person enters a chamber cooled to minus-110 Celsius for no more than three minutes.

Medical experts have noted the placebo effect as a possible explanation of its success.

Meanwhile, the continued drug testing policy within the GAA, following Irish Sports Council guidelines, was defended by Dr Duggan.

"I never believed, despite some highly speculative articles a number of years ago, the use of steroids in Gaelic games," he said.

"Anecdotally, as somebody who would be involved at various levels from many years, I would never have had any suspicion there was any huge involvement in steroids.

• The five Meath players that challenged eight-week bans arising from the national football league encounter with Dublin on April 20th saw their suspensions upheld by the central hearings committee on Tuesday night.

Nigel Crawford, Shane McAnarney, Niall McKeigue, Brendan Murphy and Séamus Kenny will therefore miss Meath the opening Leinster championship match against Carlow (May 18th) and, should they progress, the Wexford tie on June 1st.

All five are expected to take their case to the Central Appeals Committee and have three working days in which to do so.

The €20,000 fine imposed on the Meath board was, however, reduced to €10,000 by the CHC.

The four Dublin players who also sought hearings - Bernard Brogan, Diarmuid Connolly (eight weeks), Tomás Quinn and Paddy Andrews (four weeks) - will not appeal further.

The Dublin county board accepted their initial €20,000 fine. "We accepted our fine and apologised for our actions in the immediate aftermath of the incident," said Dublin secretary John Costello. "And that's the end of it."