WANDERLUST
“ Cryotherapy helps in muscle
recovery as well and it is
also said that in one session,
an average person can burn
around 400-500 calories.
”
Keeping it cool
There's a fine line between freezing to death and treating an ailment, and it is called cryotherapy. But
what is life without a little danger? GLOSS tried out the treatment.
Text By Sana Panjwani
What do Alicia Keys, Daniel Craig,
Cristiano Ronaldo and Jennifer Aniston
have in common? Besides being rich and
famous, these four celebrities are also
proponents of cryo-chamber treatments,
a kind of cryotherapy.
of cryotherapy, it is worth mentioning
that choosing to intentionally (and
possibly quite literally) freeze your butt
off is not just a flight of fancy. In fact,
it is said to hold a staggering amount
of benefits. In Poland, it is largely used
to treat conditions such as rheumatoid
Essentially, cryotherapy consists of any arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis,
kind of cold treatment be it putting a sleep disorders, and even depression.
bag of frozen peas on an injury, taking
an ice-cold bath, or spraying oneself with More commonly, it is used to reduce
biofreeze after a particularly gruelling pain and inflammation, tighten skin, and
workout.
encourage collagen production. It helps
in muscle recovery as well and it is also
Cold medicine itself has a long history said that in one session, an average person
and has been used for many purposes can burn around 400-500 calories. An
from slowing metabolics during trauma inactive or sedentary individual can even
surgery to killing cancer cells to even burn up to 800 calories due to the slower
freezing off warts. Cryo-chamber therapy, metabolism.
on the other hand, was first developed in
Japan before arriving in Europe in the The cold causes vasoconstriction which in
1980s before slowly gaining popularity turn reduces blood flow in the extremities
in the rest of the world, especially over and thus reduces inflammation around
the past few years.
soft-tissue injuries, stopping them from
progressing. The release of adrenaline
Before jumping into the technicalities relieves pain and also creates a euphoric
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feeling which leaves people feeling better
after the treatment.
There are two types of options in this
treatment, either partial or whole body.
The former largely features a contraption
akin to a standing tanning bed. You step
in, the door closes, you strip down and
stand for three minutes as aerosolised
liquid nitrogen surrounds your body,
from the neck down only. Your head stays
above as inhaling the gas is hazardous
and can lead to a strict KO. The latter,
one which GLOSS tried, consists of
stepping into a chamber room filled with
electronically cooled air, therefore safer
in comparison.
In fact, a 2013 study conducted in
France compared the two methods and
concluded that Whole Body Cooling
(WBC) is far more effective than Partial
Body Cooling (PBC) in activating the
nervous system.
Our experience with the WBC took place