Cryotherapy: What It Is and Why You Need It

Brr, it’s cold in here. There must be some cryotherapy in the atmosphere. Recently, cryotherapy has gained popularity among youth-seeking celebrities, professional athletes and people seeking to improve the way they feel.

What is cryotherapy anyway?

Cryotherapy is a treatment that immerses all or a part of your body into freezing or near-freezing temperatures. If you hate feeling cold, you may find cryotherapy uncomfortable. However, it’s said to have many significant health benefits.

Here’s how it works.

Most cryotherapy treatments involve some sort of large cooling tank. You can either submerge your entire body in the tank or isolate the area of your body in the tank for more pinpointed treatments.

Let’s talk about the benefits.

First up, pain and muscle relief. Lots of athletes have turned to cryotherapy to help ease the strain of their intense everyday activity. The cold temperatures can accelerate the healing process and dramatically reduce inflammation. Think of cryotherapy as a full- body ice pack.

Next, cryotherapy can also function as a method of weight loss. Since colder temperatures speed up the body’s metabolism, some people claim that cryotherapy helps them shed the extra pounds.

Third, it has been said that cryotherapy can help prevent dementia. Though studies have yet to prove this claim, cognitive decline has been linked to inflammation of the brain, and cryotherapy can help reduce inflammation.

Finally, cryotherapy has been linked to easing the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Both of those conditions involve types of inflammation, which cryotherapy can reduce.

Who should get cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy can benefit many different people. If you fall into one of these categories, you may want to consider adding it to your healthcare routine.

Overworked Athletes: Spend most of your time on your feet or using your muscles in a strenuous way? Cryotherapy could be a good way for you to unwind and restore your body to its pre-workout state.

Holistic Health Seekers: Trying to recover from or prevent an illness? Cryotherapy can help. Its inflammation-reducing tendencies can help keep you healthy after just one treatment.

Who shouldn’t get cryotherapy?

Pregnant Women: If you’re expecting a child, it’s not recommended that you undergo cryotherapy. The extreme temperatures can be dangerous for your baby (and at the very least, it will make your current situation more uncomfortable than it needs to be).

Heart Patients: If you’ve been treated for deep vein thrombosis or have a history of unmanaged hypertension or pacemakers, avoid cryotherapy.

Cancer Patients: If you have a history of cancer or are currently being treated for cancer, talk to your doctor before pursuing any sort of cryotherapy. Although cryotherapy can be a useful form of therapy, you want to be sure that the risks don’t outweigh the benefits.