What is cryotherapy and why are the world’s top athletes addicted to it?
There has been a widespread craze for Cryotherapy within the athletic’s society lately, which has been followed by average people who can afford it getting regular session, but what is it good for in reality?
Before going into what cryotherapy is believed to be good for, it is best if you understood what it is and the conditions under which people receive it.
Whole body cryotherapy or WBC is a form a treatment achieved by exposing an individual to extreme cold temperatures, some time as low as -100 °C. However, this happens for a short periods of time, usually between two to four minutes, or else the person would die under such cold conditions.
The way it happens is that you get almost completely naked and remain in shorts, or shorts and tank top for women, have your face and feet covered, and you’re set to go. The extreme temperatures happen within a huge refrigerator room, where you just stand and get blasted with super icy air, usually liquid nitrogen and refrigerated cooling air.
The first ever WBC chamber was built and operated in the 1970s in Japan, and made its way to Europe by the 1980s. While they were mostly located in hospitals and used for treatments of multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, they have made their way into high end spas and private clinics all over the world.
Cryotherapy was mostly unheard of for the first couple of decades, but with star athletes like LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo using it, it has become quite popular.
Even though there’s little to no scientific research to prove the claims, it is said to be effective in relieving soreness or muscle pain through reducing muscle metabolism, skin microcirculation, receptor sensitivity and nerve conduction velocity.
True or not, it would be awesome to test your body’s limits and push it to the edge. The rush cryotherapy gives might be the reason so many people are hooked to it. I don’t know about you, but I would definitely try it out if I got the chance.
