What is Cryotherapy and how does it work ?

Get answers to frequently asked questions about cryotherapy, cryotherapy machines, learn about the different types of Cryotherapy, find out what cryotherapy is good for and more.

What is Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a treatment that exposes the human body to cold air (in some cases extremely cold air), liquids or objects for medical, beauty or wellness purposes.

What are the main types of Cryotherapy?

Whole Body Cryotherapy
Localized Cryotherapy
Medical Cryotherapy / Cryoablation
Veterinary & Equine Cryotherapy
Ice Bath
Ice Pack

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How does cryotherapy work?

The basic principle of cryotherapy, also called cold therapy, is to make use of the beneficial properties of cold and apply them on the human body.
Cryotherapy exposes the body or parts of the body to hyper-cooled air in order to refresh and condition the user to improve their well-being.
This treatment alllows the user to quickly recover from the effects of any intense activity and may result in a positive reaction in the whole body.
Cryotherapy can also help users that are less active, but is primarily used by those with an active lifestyle to boost their results.

What is the history of cryotherapy?

One of the first recorded uses of cryotherapy was in Ancient Greece when Hippocrates used cold to treat swelling and pain.
As time passed, people would start using cold as an anaesthetic, as a treatment for migraines and neuralgia, and in the 19th century, Dr. James Arnott used it for medical cryotherapy - also called cryoablation.
Eventually, over the course of the 20th century, new technologies were developed and a number of researchers studied the effects of cold on various medical conditions until a japanese team of researchers focused on applying cryotherapy on patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
This laid the foundation for a new field within cryotherapy that would create a cold environment that would allow the exposure of the entire human body, such as an enclosed chamber, and also helped develop devices for the targeted application of cryotherapy.

Is there a difference between Cryotherapy and Whole Body Cryotherapy?

At present, with the spread of non-medical cryotherapy into sports recovery, physiotherapy, beauty and wellness, the term cryotherapy has for many become synonymous with Whole Body Cryotherapy.
The term cryotherapy was previously used predominantly for medical cryotherapy or cryoablation, ice baths and for the application of cold objects/water on injuries, swelling and fevers.
In this article, we use the words whole body cryotherapy and cryotherapy interchangeably.

Whole Body Cryotherapy

What is Whole Body Cryotherapy / Full Body Cryotherapy

Whole body cryotherapy is a treatment that exposes the clients/patients whole body (in most cases with the exception of the head) to a pool of extremely cold air for 2 to 3 minutes.
Whole -Body Cryotherapy is often also referred to as simply Cryotherapy.

What temperature is Cryotherapy?

In whole body cryotherapy, temperatures generally range between -80°C / -110°F and -110°C / -160°F in electric cryotherapy machines and range between -110°C /-160°F and -160°C / -250°F for liquid nitrogen based systems.
These extremely cold temperatures are achieved with the use of coolants such as liquid nitrogen or with the use of refrigerants.

What is cryotherapy used for?

Cryotherapy is used for conditioning of the human body in sports recovery, physiotherapy, beauty and wellness.
Many of our customers use cryotherapy at home for their daily recovery.

What are the benefits of cryotherapy for athletes?

Cryotherapy boosts energy levels, speeds up recovery, and has a generally positive effect on the body.

Benefits of cryotherapy for weight loss

Cryotherapy greatly improves the effects of exercise and from users experiences, it can also help the user to keep going by alleviating after-effects of intense activity that may otherwise demotivate the user from further excercise.

What is the cost of cryotherapy?

Businesses run different pricing on single whole body cryotherapy treatments and packages of treatments/services or bundle deals.
Single cryotherapy sessions generally start from $40 / 40 EUR / 35 GBP and can go up to $100 in some cases.
Packages offer businesses a great way to retain clients for longer periods usually starting at $300 for 10 treatments, but pricing can vary based on the number of services, areas serviced and overall operation costs.
Find out how to calculate the Budget to start a cryotherapy business.

How much does a cryotherapy chamber cost?

If you'd like to find out more about the cost of cryotherapy chambers go to Cryotherapy Chamber Costs, or if you would like to learn about the overall budget for a cryotherapy business go to Budget & Costs.

Localized Cryotherapy/ Cryotherapy Facial

What is Localized Cryotherapy?

Localized Cryotherapy is the application of extremely cold air in a specific area of the body using a localized cryotherapy machine.
Localized cryotherapy, also called targeted cryotherapy or spot cryotherapy is most often used in physiotherapy, sports recovery and beauty treatments often called cryotherapy facials, cryofacials or cryo facials.

What cools a cryotherapy facial machine / local cryotherapy equipment?

Localized Cryotherapy uses liquid nitrogen, refrigerants or CO2 to cool down the system that produces a continuous flow of cold air that is used to treat the clients skin surface.

What are some benefits of local cryotherapy

Localized Cryotherapy is a much more powerful ice-pack, faster recovery, relief from wear & tear post-activity.

What are some cryo facial benefits?

Benefits include the boost in collagen production , wrinkle and pore reduction, decreased redness, and the promotion of follicle growth across the scalp.

How much does a cryo facial cost?

A cryo facial or cryotherapy facial can cost from $40 up to $150 per treatment depending on the location, duration and intensity of session and is often a part of packages .

Are there any portable cryotherapy machines?

There are several types of portable cryotherapy machines.
They are most often used by physiotherapists visiting their patients, sports events or for equine cryotherapy.
If you'd like to find out if a portable cryotherapy machine is suitable for your needs Contact Us or read more on our CRYO LC product page.

How much does a cryo facial machine cost?

If you'd like to find out more about the cost of a cryo facial machine or local cryotherapy device, go to Cryotherapy Machine Costs.

Cryoablation

What is Medical Cryotherapy/ Cryoablation?

Medical Cryotherapy/ Cryoablation is a medical treatment that freezes and destroys abnormal tissue on the human body using cold liquid or an instrument called a cryoprobe.
Cryoablation has no relation to whole body or localized cryotherapy.

Veterinary and Equine Cryotherapy

What is Veterinary and Equine Cryotherapy?

Veterinary cryotherapy is based on the same principle as whole body or localized cryotherapy for humans, in which extremely cold air is applied in an environment specially designed for the treatment of animals for the purpose of vasoconstriction with subsequent vasodilation.

Ice Bath

What is an ice bath

An ice bath, also called cold-water immersion, is a treatment used after a period of intense exercise in which the human body is immersed inside a tub of ice or ice-cold water for a short period of time.
Studies suggest that ice baths can have a mild benefit in reduction of muscle damage, pain alleviation and faster regeneration.

Ice packs

Ice packs are the go to cryotherapy treatment for many people. Often applied on swelling, various injuries, insect bites, fever and other applications.
Ice packs have been around for millenia, to apply ice packs, people most often use plastic bags, refrigerant gels, frozen liquids, but also any object that can be cooled down to freezing temperatures and applied on the trouble spot.
A new form of ice packs has recently been developed called the cryo sleeve.

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Learn More About Cryo Chambers

Find out how cryotherapy chambers can help your business grow, learn how a cryo chamber at home can be an everyday boost for users or research the steps on how to pick a cryo chamber.

Learn More About Cryo Chambers

Find out how cryotherapy chambers can help your business grow, learn how a cryo chamber at home can be an everyday boost for users or research the steps on how to pick a cryo chamber.