Whole body cryotherapy may sound scary (especially with the recent rash of bad news), but in a safe, controlled environment the health benefits of cryotherapeutic treatments are numerous.
The human body is a work of art. It is designed to be self-healing, self-cleaning, and self-replicating, and if you take care of it, it will run well for decades! However, like all “machines”, the human body tends to break down. Disorders, diseases, health conditions, and illnesses plague us all in one form of another, making it hard to keep our body in shape.
If you’re suffering from one of any number of health disorders, it may be a good idea to try whole body cryotherapy as a treatment method…
What is Whole Body Cryotherapy?
Whole body cryotherapy is, simply put, being immersed in a cold chamber for an extended period of time. Whole body cryotherapy chambers (also known as cryo-saunas) can reach immensely cold temperatures–as low as 110 degrees Celsius or -166 degrees Fahrenheit.
The process of whole body cryotherapy is as follows:
- Upon arrival at the clinic, you change into the proper clothing and protective gear and step into the first cold chamber (set at -10 degrees C/-14 degrees F).
- As your body acclimates to the cold, you enter the second cold chamber (set at -60 degrees C/-76 degrees F).
- Once acclimated, you enter the cryo-sauna, a room chilled to -110 degrees C/166 degrees F. You stay in the room for only 2 or 3 minutes, after which time you slowly re-acclimate yourself to room temperature (traversing the cold chambers in reverse).
The benefits of the cryotherapy kick in after 2 or 3 minutes in the intense cold, which is why you remain in the room for that long.
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Benefits of Whole Body Cryotherapy
There are a number of benefits of this treatment:
- Pain relief or eradication
- Anti-inflammatory effects
- Optimization of your body’s thermoregulation
- Improvement in joint function
- Regulation of your brain function and psychophysical performance
- Economization in your cardiovascular and energy systems
- Temporary increase in blood supply to muscles, leading to a metabolism boost and a more effective muscle tone regulation
As you can see, the treatment does offer a wide range of health benefits, and not just limited to one specific area, but extending to your entire body.
What is Whole Body Cryotherapy For?
There are a number of ailments and disorders that can be treated using whole body cryotherapy:
- Immune mediated inflammatory diseases
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Bekhterev’s disease
- Psoriasis
- Multiple sclerosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Ostheoarthritis
- Spinal syndromes
- Tendopathies
- Chronic pains
- Atopic diseases
- Neurodermitis
- Bronchial asthma
- Infantil cerebral palsy
- Primary and pain-dependent secondary sleep disorders
- Primary insomnia
- Pain-dependent secondary insomnia
- Disturbances in equilibrium and disorders in movement coordination
- Primary hypotonic circulatory disorders
(List courtesy of WBC.com)
What You Need to Know
While whole body cryotherapy is a good treatment for a number of disorders and health conditions (as listed above), there are a few people who should NOT undergo cryotherapy.
- Those with untreated high blood pressure
- Anyone who has had a heart attack within the last six months
- Anyone with a pacemaker, or with unstable angina
- Those suffering from decompensated diseases of the respiratory or cardiovascular systems
- Anyone with severe anemia
- Those with a history of deep vein thrombosis
- Those with a history of alcohol and drug abuse
- Those suffering from a cold or allergy
- Anyone suffering from seizure disorders, wasting disorders, renal disorders, or urinary disorders
- Those with large-area viral and bacterial skin infections
- Those with wound-healing problems
If you are on this list, whole body cryotherapy is not a treatment for you! If you undergo the treatment, it could lead to some pretty serious health problems.
