Whether you’ve been suffering from a nuisance pain for months, or you lifted wrong and developed a sharp, shooting, debilitating pain, if you’re looking for a fast, effective, and easy way to ease your discomfort, cryotherapy may be just what you need. Here at Muscle Lab, LA’s top muscle recovery and wellness lounge, we welcome so many athletes and gym enthusiasts who are suffering from pain, and we are proud to say that our cryotherapy services have successfully helped to alleviate their discomfort.
Whole body cryotherapy is a natural health and wellness technique. It involves exposing the entire body (minus the head) to sub-zero temperatures (as low as -300 degrees F) for a brief period of time. The process promotes the circulation of oxygen-rich blood, releases endorphins, alleviates inflammation, reduces pain, eases stress and anxiety, boosts metabolism, supports weight loss, and even improves sleep. If you’re thinking about giving cryotherapy a try, but you’re on the fence, here’s a look at some incredible things that you’ll experience post-cold therapy that may encourage you to sign up for your first session.
Reduced inflammation
Inflammation is the body’s normal response to cell damage and injury. It protects the affected area and helps the body eliminate the stimuli, thereby facilitating the healing process. The rapid exposure to super-cold temperatures triggers the nervous system to produce norepinephrine, a natural anti-inflammatory substance that helps to minimize inflammation. It also helps to constrict the blood vessels, which reduces the buildup of white blood cells, dilates the blood vessels, and reduces warming at the affected site, as well as swelling. In other words, cryotherapy is an effective way to reduce inflammation.
Less chronic pain
If you are suffering from chronic pain, such as in your lower back, your shoulder, or your neck, there’s no doubt that you want to find a way to alleviate your discomfort. Cryotherapy can help to do just that. When the cells and tissues of your body feel pain, it triggers the nervous system to release epinephrine (as mentioned), which is also known as adrenaline; a naturally occurring hormone that the body produces when your body is in pain.
With chronic pain, the production of the appropriate amounts of epinephrine stops the body from responding to the pain. As such, when your body is exposed to extremely cold temperatures, the release of hormones is triggered, and thus, your pain is minimized. It’s important to note, however, that the results vary from person to person. That’s because each individual varies, including the part of their body that’s impacted, their body type, the type of injury they’ve suffered, and they’re overall health and well-being. For some people who suffer from chronic pain, relief may last for a few hours, but others may experience relief for a few days. It’s important to note that consistency is key; the more sessions you have, the more your pain will be reduced.
Increased performance
Ever since whole-body cryotherapy first came onto the scene in the 1980s, both professional and amateur athletes have been using this type of therapy as a way to not only recover from their injuries, but to improve their overall performance. Since cryo helps to minimize recovery time, it helps to increase your body’s rate of metabolism, improves the flow of oxygenated blood to the muscles, lowers the amount of strain that is placed on the circulatory system, and boosts the speed of bodily functions.
Furthermore, unlike soaking in a tub filled with cold water, which takes about 15 or so minutes to yield any results, whole-body cryotherapy takes about 3 minutes. Moreover, after soaking in a cold bath, exercise should be avoided for up to 24 hours; however, after cryotherapy, you can get right back to training.
Lower stress levels
If you’re feeling depressed, downtrodden, and just blue, instead of asking your doctor to prescribe a medication, give cryotherapy a try. This therapy stimulates the release of endorphins into the bloodstream, which works in conjunction with neurotransmitters (or your pain receptors) to reduce the amount of pain that you’re feeling. Plus, it promotes a positive feeling throughout the entire body, a euphoria that many of the clients at Muscle Lab have said equate to what they think morphine would feel like; in other words, it makes you feel a whole lot happier. Stay away from those nasty pharmaceutical products that only mask your symptoms and in fact, can even worsen them and make you dependent on the meds,(and cause a whole host of additional side effects); instead, when you’re feeling down, book an appointment for a cryotherapy session.
Improved metabolism
During a three minute cryotherapy session, your body temperature is cooled to 50 degrees F. As soon as you step out of the cryo sauna, your body needs a significant amount of energy in order to bring it back up to a normal temperature. As such, your body quickly combines nutrients and oxygen, which is released as energy; a process that is also known as metabolism.
Enhanced collagen production
The sub-zero temperatures that your body is exposed to during a cryotherapy session triggers vasoconstriction, a process that narrows the blood vessels; after the session is over, your blood vessels will return back to normal, which improves the blood flow through the vessels and the capillaries. This, in turn, triggers collagen production. It’s a known fact that collagen is vital for skin. This naturally occurring chemical is produced underneath the skin, and it creates smoother skin, improves elasticity, and supports skin padding, which in turn reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and prevents new ones from forming.
Muscle recovery
Recovery is vital for your training efforts, as it helps you remain in peak performance. Cryotherapy provides several benefits for the muscles that can help to maximize your workouts. These benefits include instant numbing of pain, cellular waste removal, new cell formation, and reduced inflammation in the joints.
Boost Your Health and Wellness at Muscle Lab
Ready to see what all the buzz is about? Head to LA’s top cryotherapy lounge to schedule an appointment and see for yourself why so many people swear by it.
