How Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase is following in Joe Namath’s footsteps
Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase is following HOF quarterback Joe Namath in using a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for recovery
Over the last decade or two, there’s been a huge increase in athletes taking a proactive approach into caring for their bodies. This has been especially evident with players like Tom Brady and LeBron James putting tons of money into their health and wellness. Now, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase can be added to that list of players.
Chase is caring for his body by using a unique sleeping approach where he sleeping in a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber (HBOT). Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath has been a leading proponent for the treatment as well. After initially seeing one of his former teammates deteriorating from head injuries during their playing days, Namath went and got a brain scan.
“With that SPECT scan, they could see the cells on the left side of my head from the forehead back were not getting blood. They were darker than the rest of the other cells,” Namath said on The Howard Stern Show back in 2019. “We started with hyperbaric oxygen therapy and after 40 dives of HBOT those dark cells started to lighten up a bit … I did 120 dives in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, I started in 2012 and my brain is healthy.”
Aside from Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Namath, Russell Wilson, LeBron James, Michael Phelps and Cristiano Ronaldo are notable athletes who have used these chambers for recovery and treatment. It’s also a popular treatment among military veterans. Chase described his experience with the chambers at a recent Bengals press conference.
“I’m a little claustrophobic, but when I’m tired I go in there and just fall straight to sleep,” Chase said. “It’s more of an oxygen thing. It helps you breathe better, helps with concussion protocol, with migraines and injuries … it helps you get more sleep, rest time, more recovery, oxygen,” via the Jungle Roar Bengals Pod.
Chase is currently questionable for the Bengals’ Week 1o matchup versus the Houston Texans with a back injury.
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