Cryotherapy is Used by Elite Body Builders for Recovery

Information shared from: spotmebro.com

Used by a laundry list of elite athletes, including professional bodybuilders, Olympians, UFC fighters, and even entire NBA teams, cryogenic chamber therapy is building a reputation as one of the most effective new recovery therapies currently available to athletes. With its growing popularity, WBC (Whole Body Cryotherapy) is becoming more accessible to the general public as more and more clinicians are adding chambers to their practices as a more effective alternative to cold water immersion or ice packs.

For bodybuilders? Quicker recovery means that you can lift heavy things more often. When you can prevent DOMS and quickly alleviate other aches and pains, that means you can train harder and more often with less downtime. But are these chambers the real deal, or just another fad?

What is a cryotherapy machine anyway?

Cryogenic therapy is like The Jetsons’ equivalent of jumping into an ice-filled garbage bin. Whole-body cryotherapy was invented in Japan in the late 1970’s, but only began to gain traction stateside in the last few years, with clinics opening up all over the country.

More and more weightlifters are swearing by it. A three-minute session costs about as much as dinner for two at a mid-tier restaurant, so you don’t have to be a pro athlete to afford it, either; you just have to have your priorities in order.

How does cryotherapy work?

Once you’re inside the chamber, you’ll get a burst of nitrogen gas every thirty seconds or so. The freezing gas surrounds your entire body, which causes your blood to rush away from your limbs and towards your core in an attempt to warm and protect your vital organs from an icy funeral. It puts you into survival mode and oxygenates your blood. When you step out of the chamber, your blood immediately rushes back to your arms and legs, and you’ll feel a warm, almost tingly sensation. That means it’s working.

If you have a sports injury, whether it’s a contusion or a strain, the blood running to the core and then coming back to the limbs with oxygenated blood redevelops injured cells and helps you heal faster.

IFBB Champion Pro Bodybuilder Steve Kulco says, “At first it’s like getting into a really cold air-conditioned room, and then it’s like jumping on a block of ice.”

It’s no secret that ice and extremely cold temperatures help with recovery; the first thing you reach for when you hurt yourself is an ice pack. Now imagine an ice pack for your entire body.

Quick facts:

• The temperature of the air vapor ranges from -166 F to -260 F.
• The treatment lasts between 90 seconds and 3 minutes.
• You are subjected to short bursts of air vapor, each lasting just a few moments.
• Athletes report feeling much less sore in the days following an intense workout.
• Notable fans of WBC include Usain Bolt, Steve Kuclo, Cristiano Ronaldo (Bought a chamber for his home), Kobe Bryant, UFC welterweight champ Johny Hendricks, and many more.

Notable Scientific Findings Related To Athletic Recovery:

Effect of whole body cryotherapy on the levels of some hormones in professional soccer players.
Whole body cryotherapy leads to a significant decrease in serum T and E(2), with no effect on LH and DHEAS levels. As a result of cryotherapy, the T/E(2) ratio increased significantly. The observed changes are likely due to cryotherapy-induced alterations in the blood supply to the skin and subcutaneous tissue, as well as modulation of aromatase activity, which converts testosterone and androstenedione to estrogens.

Time-course of changes in inflammatory response after whole-body cryotherapy multi-exposures following severe exercise.

Overall, the results indicated that the WBC was effective at reducing inflammation. These results may be explained by vasoconstriction at the muscular level, as well as by decreases in pro-inflammatory cytokine activity and increases in anti-inflammatory cytokine activity.

Cryotherapy effective for treating frozen shoulder

In patients with adhesive capsulitis (AC) of the shoulder, adding whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) to physical therapy and joint mobilization appears more effective than either alone, research shows.

Indeed, patients receiving additional WBC achieved “clinically significant” improvements of over 20% relative to the physical therapy and mobilization group, suggesting it could become “the preferred treatment strategy,” according to Hyeong-Dong Kim (Korea University, Seoul) and colleagues.

There was even a study to determine if whole body cryotherapy (WBC) could be an effective treatment for anxiety. Despite a small sample size, the results were encouraging.

Cryochamber vs Cryosauna

The difference between a cryochamber and a cryosauna is simple. With a cryosauna, your head sticks out the top, and you’re not completely isolated inside, unlike the chamber, which you step into and is sealed off. The chamber allows for a more uniform temperature distribution; in other words, your face will be freezing cold along with the rest of you.

Cryogenic Therapy in MMA

Joe Rogan (who we last mentioned when he was talking trash about modern bodybuilding) is an evangelist for cryogenic chamber therapy and has personally played a role in influencing many people to try it out for themselves, including UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub, who said, “I usually do ice baths between training sessions, but the setup is such a hassle. Cryo is convenient and takes my recovery to another level. Cold as hell, but it works!”

Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks says, “3 minutes to make my body feel good? I’ll do anything for 3 minutes.”

For athletes in any sport, proper recovery is essential in order to prevent injuries. Preventing injuries means more training, and more training means better performance. Even if you aren’t an elite-level athlete, cryogenic chamber therapy can help reduce inflammation and pain.