Athletes seem to have a peculiar interest in the restorative powers urine.
Back in 2004, Cubs outfielder Moises Alou revealed he frequently urinated on his hands to harden them, a trick he learned from his baseball-playing father. Jorge Posada said he did the same but only in Spring Training. Now Chad Johnson (no longer Ochocinco) has revealed he used warm urine to treat ankle sprains.
Speaking on ESPN’s Mike and Mike on Wednesday, Johnson said he would gather urine from his teammates, heat it up and put his ankle in it for half an hour.
Hm, I wonder how well that worked out. And also what the team’s doctors thought about the approach. Because though I’m not a doctor, I can’t really imagine Johnson’s approach to sprained ankles was what an orthopedist would suggest.
Then again, Johnson was extremely durable during his 11-year NFL career, playing in 117 consecutive games between 2001 and 2008 and in 166 of a possible 176 (not including playoffs) over the course of his in the league, so maybe there’s something to his totally insane-sounding self-treatment.
One more thing: Can you imagine the conversations with teammates in which Johnson solicited their pee?
Chad: Hey man, can I have some of your urine?
Teammate: Uhhhhhh
Chad: No, no you don’t understand. It’s for my ankles!
Teammate: Uhhhhhh