Who’s singing the Frozen song?
I refuse to see that movie.
you’d think I’d rather see a movie than actually be frozen. But no. I got frozen. My friend, Tori, heard me complaining about all my injuries (shit falls apart when you get older, y’all!), and offered to hook me up with a trial for Icebox Cryotherapy. Basically, they freeze you with gasified liquid nitrogen. It looked like I was standing in a cylinder of dry ice – but it’s not as dangerous.
In Tori’s words: “You know how when you bang your thumb, blood rushes to it and it gets really hot because your body is trying to fix it? Basically same body response when you do cryo. Your body thinks you’re freezing to death, so it sends signals all over and sees what’s ‘broken’ or hurt and focuses on it.” Sounds great, right?! It really is great for recovery; in fact, many professional athletes have been using if for years!
Recovery aside, Cryotherapy has multiple other benefits:
- Increased circulation
- Reduction in pain & inflammation
- Assists in a quicker surgical recovery
- Aids in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and osteoarthritis
- Boost immune system
- Decreased fatigue
- Tighter skin (cellulite, say what?!)
- Increased libido (woot!)
- Weight loss assistance
So was it that bad? It was 3 minutes at negative 130 degrees Celsius (-266 Fahrenheit). It wasn’t a cake walk… but honestly, I didn’t ever think I’d never make it out alive. I had gloves and booties on (I have Raynaud’s, which the owner made sure she looked out for). The parts that hurt the worst were my legs (which are sore and injured) and my nipples (apparently common), but I recovered right after. Your core temp doesn’t actually change, so you don’t freeze to death.
After wards, my body felt SO relaxed, I slept like a little baby that night, and hit a couple PRs in the gym the next day. I’d like to do it a few more times for my injuries, but it definitely helped with the general soreness and recovery! If you’re in Atlanta or have a facility in your city, I definitely recommend it!
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