What is Cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy basically translates to mean “cold therapy.” There are two main types of cryotherapy:
- whole body cryotherapy: which involves entering a cryotherapy chamber.
- localized cryotherapy: which is where you focus the cold therapy on one specific part of the body.
Whole body cryotherapy happens inside a cryochamber. Some types of chambers use an electric cooling method that releases oxygen-enriched air into the walk-in chamber. This cooling method reduces the risk of uneven cold exposure and forced air burns. There are also chambers that use liquid nitrogen to produce the cooling effect, which allows for a much lower cryotherapy temperature. Temperature is typically 107 °C (-160 °F) in electric cryotherapy chambers or -146 °C (-230 °F) in nitrogen cryotherapy chambers. Your body experiences these temperatures for a few minutes in a confined space, typically for 3-4 minutes while standing. The main idea is that the extremely cold temperature will jumpstart certain systems and chemicals in the body as well as help control issues like inflammation and skin problems. You might shiver, but that is normal.
While whole body treatments are great for relieving general inflammation, some parts of the body may require more attention. This is where localized cryotherapy can step in to minimize pain, promote healing, treat wounds, reduce swelling, etc. Localized cryotherapy typically involves using anything from ice packs to probes to target specific tissues or areas of the body where the freezing effect will freeze bad cells or help stimulate tissues and organs. If you use ice packs, wrap them in a dry cloth to protect yourself.
Another branch of cryotherapy is called cryosurgery, which requires medical supervision. Cryosurgery is used to treat tumors on the skin, as well as certain tumors inside the body. Some cancer patients have experienced benefits from the process of freezing cancer cells, which produces ice crystals around the cells and effectively destroys them in the localized area that is treated.
Health Benefits of Whole Body Cryotherapy
Specific health benefits you can receive from cryotherapy treatment
1. Relieves Sore Muscles
People who are physically active or play on a sports team may benefit from cryotherapy because it is known to soothe aching muscles. Lots of professional athletes such as LeBron James and Usain Bolt like to use cryotherapy as part of their training.
If you have stiff muscles from being physically active, consider incorporating cryotherapy into your physical therapy regimen a few times a week. The cold can help reduce inflammation in the muscles, which may feel amazing after a strenuous workout or mid-day run.
2. Improves Weight Loss
When you are cold, your body goes into overdrive to stay warm. As a result, your metabolism gets a boost and you burn calories. If you do whole body cryotherapy often, it may help you burn thousands of extra calories a week. Research has shown that whole body cryotherapy sessions over a long period of time can reduce your body mass by 3%.
3. Reduces Anxiety and Depression
When you experience the shock of cold from cryotherapy, your body naturally responds by releasing adrenaline and endorphins. These natural chemicals can enhance your mood, leaving you feeling almost euphoric at times. Your body will also increase blood flow throughout your body in response to the cold, which can further boost your mood.
4. Helps Alleviate Migraine Headaches
Cryotherapy reduce the pain of migraines. Also, try putting localized ice packs or specialized cryotherapy probes on the right side of your neck near your carotid arteries when you have a migraine. It is believed that cooling the blood in the vessels near your head reduces the intensity of the migraine.
5. Treats Skin Issues (like eczema and acne)
Cryotherapy is known to improve the levels of antioxidants in your blood, which can reduce the effects of eczema, dry and flaky skin. Research is still being done on how targeting sebaceous glands in your skin with cryotherapy may help eliminate acne. Be careful about overdoing the cryotherapy, though, as it can cause skin rashes when used too frequently.
The full extent of cryotherapy health benefits is not yet known. As you begin whole body cryotherapy, it is advised that you align regularly with your doctor regarding how often you are using the treatment and whether you are experiencing any side effects.
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