Our cryo chamber is staffed with a technician that is always with you through your 3-minute treatment to ensure your safety and to answer any questions.
Each session is two to three minutes in duration; however, you may end the session at any time.
What is Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC)?
Cryotherapy is exposure to subzero temperatures. The extreme temperature stimulates skin sensors, activating a Central Nervous System (CNS) response. This causes the release of endorphins, the body’s natural pain inhibitors and mood elevators, while the enhanced circulation activity (blood movement into and out of the core) decreases inflammation by clearing toxins and metabolic waste with a supply of oxygen and nutrient-enriched blood to stimulate cellular regeneration (faster healing).
Beautifully, what happens after cryotherapy is that your body boosts collagen production! And as another amazing bonus—the amount of energy your body cranks out to warm you up fast not only improves your circulation but also burns calories! Cryotherapy is most likely one of the fastest ways to hack burning calories, in just 3 minutes there have been reports anywhere from 400-800 extra calories burned! Cellulite reduction, skin improvement, skin tightening are all reasons our members cryo 2-3 times a week
The Effect and Breakdown of a Cryo Treatment
When inside a cryotherapy chamber, and during fight-or-flight, your brain sends a distress signal and triggers the adrenal glands in your body to produce adrenaline. As Adrenaline pumps through your body several benefits occur.
1. Your heart rate increases pushing blood to the muscles, heart and other vital organs.
2. Your breathing increases which fully opens small airways in the lungs. At this point your lungs can take in maximum oxygen with each breath.
3. You’ll get extra oxygen to the brain which increases alertness and other senses such as improved: sight, hearing, and all other senses become sharper.
4. Adrenaline also triggers the release of blood sugar and fats from their temporary storage sites in the body. These nutrients flood into the bloodstream, supplying energy to all parts of the body.
5. Your body will experience a high level calorie burn session. A 3.5 minute session and maximum cold can burn as many as 800 calories!
Typical Session
Before Treatment
Before treatment, you will need to ensure that the clothing you are wearing is completely dry. Additionally, patients should not wear jewelry in the chamber. This becomes a safety hazard when the temperature drops. Sensitive body parts, your hands, and feet, will be covered with gloves and slippers. It’s important to follow this protocol, as those body parts are at the highest risk for frostbite.
During Treatment
When you enter the chamber, you will not feel any pain, but the drastic drop in temperature can be slightly uncomfortable for first-time patients.
After Treatment
Following treatment, a patient might experience some sensations like mild numbness or tingling. This is completely normal and not anything to be concerned about. It will typically go away on its own. Patients can also expect some redness on the skin, which will also go away while the body warms back up.
What Are the Benefits?
Whole-body cryotherapy is most effective when it is used routinely. Countless athletes swear by whole body cryotherapy, using it up to twice a day during training. Generally, optimal results are seen in 10 to 20 treatment sessions, but it also depends on the severity of the condition patients are seeking treatment for in the first place.
Cryotherapy can also be very effective when used in conjunction with interventional pain management, physical therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, and massage therapy following an injury or in treating the symptoms of a chronic musculoskeletal condition.
Now that we know what cryotherapy is, let’s find out why it’s so popular.
• Pain Relief – Many people first pursue cryotherapy due to its pain-alleviating benefits. Think about it, doctors have recommended ice packs for muscle injuries for many years. Imagine the benefits that can be done for chronic pain when submerging your body in cold temperatures. Cryotherapy can be used for patients with arthritis or injuries to muscles.
• Weight Loss – While it is still crucial to eat healthy and get your recommended exercise, cryotherapy can also aid in weight loss. When you are submerged in cold temperatures, your body is working harder to stay warm, thereby burning more calories than you would at a comfortable temperature. It is shown that a three-minute session of cryotherapy can burn up to between 400 and 800 calories, and increase a patient’s metabolism. Additionally, for those who struggle to exercise due to chronic pain, cryotherapy can alleviate that pain and allow patients to start exercising again without causing additional harm.
• Inflammation Reduction – Inflammation is one of the immune system’s ways of fighting infection. When the immune system becomes overly reactive, it causes chronic inflammation. Ironically, chronic inflammation can create health issues in the future. Chronic inflammation is linked to things such as cancer, diabetes, depression, and dementia. Just a few minutes in a cryotherapy chamber has been known to reduce inflammation, thus reducing a patient’s risk for developing any of these conditions. Additionally, patients with wounds and burns have used cryotherapy in the past to speed up the healing process of their injuries. It can also aid in the growth of new blood vessels (neovascularization).
• Immune System Improvement – Recent research has shown that cryotherapy can drastically increase the number of white blood cells (especially lymphocytes and monocytes), enabling your body to recognize and attack foreign pathogenic organisms faster.
• Stress Alleviation – Cryotherapy treatments are linked to a decrease in day-to-day stress by their clinical ability to decrease cortisol levels, which is the stress hormone of our body. Cortisol has a variety of important roles, such as increasing our energy levels and regulating our blood pressure, however, elevated levels and chronic amounts of stress can weaken your immune system.
Cryotherapy can reduce our cortisol levels by releasing endorphins, our body’s feel-good hormones. “Additionally, whole-body cryotherapy has been shown to clinically improve patients suffering from anxiety and depression.
This is only scratching the surface of the benefits of cryotherapy. It has been a practiced form of therapy for many decades now, and patients report a wide variety of benefits and improvements with tendonitis, rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, and some skin conditions (acne, eczema, and psoriasis).
Risk Factors
There are some exceptions to those who will benefit from cryotherapy treatment. If any of the following applies to you, you may not be a good fit for cryotherapy:
• Any respiratory disease or illness – The cold can worsen things like asthma. Do not go to cryotherapy treatment if you are feeling sick.
• Heart disease or a heart attack within the past six months – The lowering of a patient’s heart rate may be detrimental to those with pre-existing heart conditions.
• High blood pressure – Your blood pressure will increase while your body works harder to stay warm. >150 not controlled by medication
• Severe Raynaud’s Syndrome
• Patients under the age of 14
• Patients with pacemakers or or other metal implants
• Patients who are or may be pregnant
Some other conditions will deem you unfit for cryotherapy. If you have any chronic illnesses, it’s always recommended to consult with a primary care physician before scheduling treatment.