You may have seen pictures of athletes inside cyrotherapy chambers , recovering from their strenuous workouts . When I saw a cyrotherapy session advertised on Groupon, I decided to give it a try. I was searching from relief from my migraine headaches and this was on the list of conditions treated.
Whole body cyrotherapy was originally developed in Japan in 1978 to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
Cyrotherapy claims to decrease muscle soreness, pain , swelling and inflammation , improve joint function, boost lymph draining and blood circulation, and even burn calories. Some sources even claim it can burn between 500-800 calories a session.
How does it work? While the body is at between -150 to -300 degrees farenheight, blood vessels in your skin’s surface and muscle tissue constrict, forcing blood away from the peripheral tissues and toward your core, where the body’s natural filtration system works to remove toxins and inflammatory properties of the blood. When you exit the cyrochamber, filtered blood flows back to the peripheral tissues, enriched with oxygen , nutrients , and enzymes. (Source: newyouspas.com)
After I check in at Palm Beach Cyrotherapy I am given a robe, gloves, socks, slippers and two pairs of gloves to change into as the attendant begins “cooling down” the chamber. She tells me to leave my bra and underwear on. I step into the tall silver chamber. Just before the door is shut I hand her my robe .
The pedestal I am standing on begins to move, lifting me straight up. Soon my head is peeking out over the top. The steam is already swirling around me. She explains that this is liquid nitrogen vapor. She starts dropping the temperature as she tells me the benefits of cyrotherapy . The biggest benefit she has seen is a decrease in turnaround time from her cross fit activities. Soon we are halfway done. I move my feet in a little dance to keep warm. I look in the mirror posted on the door. The gases are swirling around my head. She tells me that after motivational speaker Tony Robbins explained his love of cyrotherapy , there was a huge influx of people to the spa.
Soon my session is complete and I am lowered down. I open the door and step out, the steam billowing onto the ground as I stepped out of the chamber. My body feels refreshed and I feel like I have a little boost of energy . A few hours later I am at dinner and begin to feel a warmness over my body. It was as if someone had turned the air conditioning off suddenly and I was sweating lightly. I notice that the headache I had a few hours before was gone. My upper body feels looser even after lots of hours at my computer all week. My body soon returns to normal temperature by the time I go to bed that night. I usually wake up during the night but for once I sleep soundly .
I have a few sessions left on my groupon and decide I will give cyrotherapy a few more sessions. I could use a little more “chilling out” in my life.
If you want to try Palm Beach Cyro for yourself here are some Special offers.
Interview with Tony Robbins
