Cryotherapy: Is Freezing your Body Good for It?

My daughter is 25 and suffering from a health condition. This is her story in her own words…

If I’m being 100% honest with you, I didn’t know what cryotherapy was and wouldn’t have thought cryotherapy was something to be taken seriously.

I heard about it from a friend and laughed, thinking about the lengths people will go to in order to keep up with trends. “This is just another fad people like talking about to look cool” was my attitude, until I got an opportunity to try it myself.

What Made Me Try Cryotherapy

It was not just for the sake of the experience, but because I have an actual health condition this form of therapy claims it relieves. I had been dealing with symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis for over 6 months and was looking for anything to help me feel comfortable in my body again.

I’m sure a lot of other people can relate to that feeling of desperation. I was so desperate to feel normal and not like I’m stuck in this chronic disease nightmare, that I was willing to try freezing my body to relieve the pain.

My First Cryotherapy Session

During my first session, I was a nervous wreck. I had no idea what to expect until I was standing right in front of a cryosauna, wearing nothing but a towel, gloves, and socks, and told to step in. Immediately, I felt the cold. My mind began racing and I felt like I needed to run, jump, and move my body as much as possible in order to warm it back up.

The attendant helping me advised me to walk in place and turn my body like a rotisserie chicken so I got an even blast of cold on all sides of my body and didn’t get “freezer burn” (frostbite).

She talked to me through the three minutes each session lasts to keep my mind off the freezing cold enveloping me. Then, before I knew it, she opened the door and it was over. I stepped out and an intense feeling of euphoria washed over my body, and the anxiety I felt before the session was completely gone. Despite almost freezing to death, I felt SO alive. After walking around for a few minutes, I noticed something pretty amazing – my RA pain was gone.

Lasting Results?

I decided to test if this could have lasting results by doing a cryotherapy session once a day for 30 days. I might sound crazy, wanting to go through all of that again, but the intensity of the first session died down. After doing it a few times, it’s much easier to last the full three minutes because the cold is not as shocking.

My results were worth all of the freezing chills and goosebumps I endured. My RA pain is virtually gone, the inflammation widespread in my body has gone down, and my skin even looks better.

How does it help?

When you step into a cryosauna, the temperature around you suddenly drops to -200 to -274 degrees Fahrenheit. The reaction that happens in your body is due to a natural protective response to exposure to extreme cold.

What happens is the blood vessels constrict, and the blood rushes from your limbs to protect your body’s vital organs. It creates a systemic response that reduces inflammation, boosts your immune system, improves hormone production, and strengthens muscles.

This has many benefits, including,

Increased metabolism
Increased collagen production
Chronic pain reduced
Improved energy levels
Muscle tissue repair after workouts
Anxiety and depression relief
Decreases inflammation

Maybe cryotherapy isn’t for everyone. There are some people who just can’t handle the cold, but from my experience, it’s their loss. The results don’t lie. However, the only way you will ever know is if you do what I did. Take a risk and you may find yourself standing in front of a cryosauna, wearing nothing but a towel, gloves, and socks, being told to step in.

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