Freezing Never Felt So Good

Cryotherapy a Quick, Holistic Option for a Wide Range of Ailments

- Mary Toothman

CRYOTHERAPY ENTHUSIASTS can recite a lengthy and varied list of ailments, issues and challenges that may be treated with the icy cold form of holistic therapy — now available in several locations in Central Florida.

While some of us may never have heard of cryotherapy before, a quick check online for possible locations shows the therapy is offered in Lakeland, Brandon, Wesley Chapel, Tampa, Tarpon Springs and Largo areas.

Boiled down to the very basics, cryotherapy clients get inside a machine called a “cryosauna,” which gets extremely cold. They emerge just three minutes or so later with perked up circulation systems, which can in turn have multiple health benefits.

If you’re wondering exactly what qualifies as “extremely cold,” in this case, it means anywhere from -35 to -200 degrees Fahrenheit. During a whole-body cryotherapy session, a person stands in an upright cylindrical enclosure that stays open at the top. The head remains outside the enclosure, but the rest of the body is exposed to the low temperatures. Socks, gloves and undergarments are often worn.

According to practitioners and clients, some of the health problems that cryotherapy can help include:

• Chronic pain

• Headaches

• Back pain

• Osteoporosis

• Mobility and joint function

• Weight loss

• Arthritis

• Circulation

• Inflammation

• Central fatigue

• Depression

• Energy

• Metabolism and energy levels