Cryotherapy, or cold therapy, has been around for centuries, but has become ‘cool’ again in the last decade as a popular form of muscle recovery for professional and casual athletes alike. Similar to using an ice pack to nurse an achy muscle back to health, cryotherapy is like immersing your entire body in one giant ice pack – one that is even colder than a frozen cube – using liquid nitrogen to quickly drop a cooling chamber down to less than -160°C.
Benefits of Cryotherapy
Although there are dozens of studies touting the wide-spanning benefits of cryotherapy, the most concrete evidence relates to muscle recovery. By reducing muscle soreness and inflammation – especially right after a tough workout – muscles are able to recover quicker and more efficiently.
CryoZone
Using cutting-edge technology and an industry leading cryotherapy chamber, the newly opened Cryozone on Xiangyang Lu is one of the first venues to offer this muscle recovery and relief service in Shanghai, for just RMB188/session. CryoZone is all about providing a comfortable experience to all guests with no required membership, no prepaid cards, no subscription fees and – most importantly – no pressure.
How It Works
At CryoZone, they use an industry leading cryotherapy chamber that pumps liquid nitrogen from your neck down. The whole session takes only about three minutes and the effects are felt almost immediately after.
The liquid nitrogen can go as low as -160°C, but beginners are suggested to start out around -120°C.
Doing cryotherapy immediately after a workout or strenuous activity is the most effective. However, one can still take full advantage of the recovery benefits of cryotherapy within 48 hours of exercising. Cryotherapy is also an ideal kick-start in the morning, as it can be a strong energizer for the day.
What Happens In Your Body?
Step 1
Nitrogen vapor blows into the cryotherapy chamber, steadily decreasing the temperature from around -80°C to -140°C. During this process, your skin’s surface temperature decreases from 36°C to roughly 3°C, while keeping your internal body temperature intact.
Step 2
The skin reacts to the cold, and your body protects your internal organs by pushing blood to the core where it circulates. This is known as vasoconstriction; the temporary dry chill cues your evolutionary bio-responses to extreme cold.
Step 3
As your blood vessels begin vasoconstriction and circulate blood on an internal tract, red blood cells are enriched with oxygen, nutrients and enzymes, while toxins are flushed from peripheral tissues.
Step 4
Upon the session concluding, enriched blood is pumped from the internal organs to the skin’s surface tissues, muscle tissues and joints, and endorphins are released which provide pain relief to affected areas.
Step 5
For the next three to five hours, the enriched blood continues to be flushed through your body as you experience the natural benefits of cryotherapy – muscle recovery, clarity of mind, an endorphin rush and a visible tightening of the skin.
My Experience
I de-robed and climbed into the cryotherapy cooling chamber. First though: it gets cold. Like really cold. I’m from one of, if not the coldest state in the US – I’ve survived too many winters to count that drop below -30°C for weeks on end – and I still felt this was proper cold, even at a fairly beginner level temperature of -140°C. I can’t believe owner Chris Zhang has made it down to -180°C before. That’s insanity.
Time goes slowly. Three minutes felt like thirty as my skin prickled into goose bumps and everything from my ankles to my shoulders went completely numb.
But, as the timer reached zero and the chamber sucked the liquid nitrogen cold air out, I felt a huge rush of endorphins, increased alertness and an overall feeling of being lighter.
Immediately, I felt good. I was rid of the muscle soreness that I walked in with – a feeling I don’t normally get until 24-48 hours after a heavy lift-focused workout.
The whole session is fast. If you book ahead, you could be in and out the door in less than 10 minutes, easily, making it especially convenient for people that live in the area.
To book your own cryotherapy session, scan the QR code below to follow CryoZone’s Official WeChat account and select 'Book' under the Services tab.
See a listing for CryoZone.
[All images courtesy of CryoZone]
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