Benefits of Cryotherapy, The “Hot” Biohacking Sensation Sweeping the Country

The Blizzard in a Chamber

Cryotherapy spas are popping up faster these days than the pesky weeds on my lawn.  Athletes, biohackers, marathon runners, and those chasing the fountain of youth all are lauding its benefits.  Hollywood has turned it into a must-go fad for the ingenue and seasoned actors alike.  It is in the zeitgeist.  Now these aren’t the places where people like Hall of Famer Ted Williams have frozen their bodies to later be thawed out when the cure for the disease that killed them has been discovered.   That’s cryogenics.! (Or think of Austin Powers frozen in the cryogenic chamber!)   Before we cover the benefits of cryotherapy let’s cover what exactly it is.

{Read our article on natural biohacks that will you sleep.}

Cryo- is the Greek root for “cold.”   Our ancestors have been using some sort of cold therapy for thousands of years to speed up recovery.  Think of the geriatric “polar bears” who jump into freezing lakes!  Or athletes who sit in ice tubes after the game.  Or even the ice pack on the leg.  But those are all very 20th century!

The newest from of ice therapy is cryotherapy.  It espouses shooting the body with very cold nitrogen to freeze the body for a very short amount of time to elicit hormesis.  Hormesis is the belief that exposing the body to a negative, possibly harmful stimulus for a short time elicits the body to respond in a beneficial way.  The most classic example of hormesis vis-à-vis the body is sprinting.  Sprinting is extremely strenuous on the body.  But the body adapts and by releasing a cascade of adaptive and metabolic hormones it ends us helping the body.

Types of Cryotherapy

Various types of cryotherapy exists.  There is a walk-in chamber variety where you are completely enclosed in a room.  (See picture above.)  The technicians give you gloves, socks, and a mask but aside from those accouterments you go in with solely your underwear.  The technician turns on the nitrogen which then cools the chamber to approximately –220-250 degrees.  You shiver in the chamber for about 2 minutes causing your skin temperature to falls to 32 degrees.  An emergency button in the chamber allows you to leave at any time.

{Read our article on 5 easy, morning biohacks that will help you live longer.}

The second type of cryotherapy is a cylindrical-shaped tube called a cryosauna.  You walk into the tube and the platform elevates your body up to the point where you are head is exposed outside of the cryosauna.  The same nitrogen procedure occurs.  This form of cryotherapy is the one you are most likely to see when you visit the cryotherapy spa.  Many people like them because you are not enclosed in a chamber and since your head is exposed above the chamber you can interact with the outside world as your body is turned into a Popsicle.

The last type of cryotherapy are hand-held devices.  These are much more versatile, may be purchased for the house, and used at anytime. The main purpose of the hand-held ones is that you can apply the extreme cold directly onto troubled spots of your body.

The reputed benefits of Cryotherapy

• Reduces inflammation
• Quickens muscle repair
• Improves cardiovascular circulation
• Helps reduce fat
• Slows down aging
• Quickens your metabolism
• Relieves arthritis
• Improves Mood
• Alleviates Nerve Damage
• Used as alternative Cancer Treatment

Most cryotherapy spas will offer an introductory offer of a one-time 3-minute cryosauna routine for about $50-75.  From there, the business models differ.  Some will charge you monthly to come in an unlimited amount of times, others will give you a “coupon book” of 6 treatments at a discounted rate to use at your discretion.  Or you can just walk in!

Takeaway: Maybe Mr. Freeze from that awful 90’s Batman movie had it right! Are there benefits to cryotherapy? We are of the opinion that cryotherapy is just a repackaging of an age-old practice of freezing the body to speed recovery.  Its proponents will expound they have found the “fountain of youth.” Perhaps it is true; perhaps it is hyperbole to get impressionable people to try it. Most allopathic doctors look askance at cryotherapy; whereas, most naturopathics are open to it.

And why not? Aside from a freak death that occurred to a spa employee in 2015 (she used the facility unattended late at night) few, if any, adverse effects exists.  If money is not an issue, give cryotherapy a shot!  If it is an issue, stick to winter walks scantily-clothed, or best of yet a very cold shower.

• Here is Dr. Oz’s take on Cryotherapy.
• Here is Kelly Ripa in a Cryosauna.
• My favorite video is Certified Health Nut because it demonstrates all three modules with great explanations.

Listen to our Naturopathic Earth podcast.

A. Gregory Luna

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