8月8日,当泳坛巨星迈克尔•菲尔普斯在里约奥运会男子4x100米自由泳接力比赛中获得了他的第19枚奥运金牌时,引起人们关注的不仅是他史无前例的金牌总数,还有在他肩背部的神秘红色圆点。
These circles are no mystery to us in China – they are marks left over from cupping therapy. People do it all the time – our neighbors do it, our parents do it and we might try it from time to time when we have a cold or sore muscles.
这些圆形印记对于我们中国人来说却并不神秘——它们是“火罐”疗法留下的印记。(在中国)人人都会拔火罐——每当受凉或是肌肉酸痛时,我们的邻居、父母甚至是我们自己总会尝试“火罐”疗法。
But apparently the Westerners are deeply puzzled by the marks. As a joke, The Chicago Tribune made four wild guesses of what they might be: “a) *nicotine patches of some sort; b) very *bland tattoos; c) extraordinarily precise *hickeys; d) ports used to feed software updates to this gold-medal-winning *aquatic machine.” Some people even fear that they might be a symptom of the Zika virus.
但很显然,西方人对这些印记感到十分困惑。《芝加哥论坛报》以开玩笑的口吻对这些印记做了如下四种猜测:1)某种尼古丁形成的斑;2)十分无聊的纹身;3)极其精确的吻痕;4)用于更新这台水上运动夺金机器内部软件的端口。而一些人甚至还担心这是感染寨卡病毒的症状。
Western media also couldn’t stop reporting
西方媒体也在大肆报道“火罐”疗法,比如英国广播公司的标题“为什么这么多奥林匹克运动员身上有这些红色圆形印记?”以及《每日邮报》的“美国队疯狂地迷恋一种叫“拔罐”的古老疗法”。
All of a sudden, interest in cupping therapy has spiked. People are wondering whether it actually works and how it works.
一时间,人们对于“火罐”疗法的兴趣激增。大家都在好奇这是否真的有效以及它是如何起作用的。
According to American gymnast Alex Naddour, the therapy works like a magic trick. “That’s been the secret that I have had through this year that keeps me healthy. It’s been better than any money I’ve spent on anything else,” he told USA Today. “It has saved me from a lot of pain.”
美国体操运动员亚历克斯•纳道尔认为这种疗法就像是一种魔法。“这就是我今年能够保持健康的秘密,它比我花在任何其他事情上的钱都来得有效,”他告诉《今日美国》。“它从各种病痛中拯救了我。”
As for how it works, American actress Gwyneth Paltrow – one of the reported celebrity fans of cupping, in addition to Jennifer Aniston, Victoria Beckham and Lady Gaga – explained it pretty well.
至于“火罐”疗法的原理,美国演员格温妮丝•帕特洛媒体以及对它做出了很好的解释。她是媒体报道中提到的众多“拔罐”疗法的粉丝之一,其他还有詹妮弗•安妮斯顿,维多利亚•贝克汉姆和嘎嘎小姐等。
“It gets the blood circulating back through whichever point that is and to, you know, clear the energy and get the *toxins out,” she told The Chicago Tribune. “It looks painful, but actually it feels amazing and it’s very relaxing.”
“它促进了那部分区域的血液循环,清洁身体内的能量并且排出毒素,”她告诉《芝加哥论坛报》。“虽然看起来很痛,但事实上这种感觉棒极了,让人十分放松。”
But the media are still quite skeptical
但是媒体依然对这种疗法持怀疑态度,称目前并没有科学依据来证明其有效性。尽管如此,英国《卫报》编辑凯特•卡特认为奥运匹克运动员们愿意尝试这一疗法是可以理解的,因为大多数奥运会夺冠都是分毫之争,而这也意味着任何能够提高比赛成绩的方法,无论多么微不足道,都是有益的。
“Think of cupping as the anti-science version,” wrote Carter. “After all, most athletes have their own rituals and superstitions – and if a lifetime of dreaming of gold came down to a few minutes of your life, you would take every edge you can get too, and feel all the better for it.”
“就把拔罐当成一种反科学的形式吧,”卡特写道。“毕竟,大多数运动员都有自己的仪式和迷信——要是毕生的金牌梦实现的过程仅在数分钟内,你也会尝试能做到的任何方法,并且在那之后感觉好多了。”