Work Out Freeze Repeat

Whole Body Cryotherapy Offers a Quick, Convenient, Effective and Extreme Form of Cold Therapy

- Pedro Van Gaalen

If the idea of regular ice baths seems like too much of an effort, but you still want to benefit from cold therapy, then recent advances in sports science may hold the answer.

Whole body cryotherapy (WBC) is an intensive cold treatment, originally designed to treat circulatory diseases, that has been adapted for use by athletes as an adjunct to traditional post-exercise recovery techniques and practices.

It is reportedly capable of this as the extreme cold – which is far below that achievable using ice baths – creates powerful physiological responses that promote rapid recovery from intense or hard training, and may also aid in the rehabilitation and recovery from injury.

INSTA-FREEZE

Now offered in convenient purpose built chambers, including mobile trailer-mounted facilities, these systems generally use liquid nitrogen gas (vapour) to rapidly lower temperatures in the main chamber to between -110 °C and -160°c. Most WBC systems also include an antechamber, cooled to around -70°c, to help users adjust to the cold conditions, before entering the main chamber, which can often accommodate multiple users at a time.

Treatments usually last for four to five minutes, with one to two minutes spent 'acclimating' in the antechamber, with up to three minutes spent in the extreme cold of the main chamber. Users wear gloves, beanies or ear warmers, face masks, and special socks or shoes, and little else during the treatment as the idea is to expose as much of the body and skin to the cold as possible.

COLD MECHANISM

WBC is said to aid “biological renewal”, by acting directly on the muscles, particularly the extremities, and indirectly on the nervous and endocrine (hormonal) systems to more rapidly restore homeostasis and improve function.