Localized Cryotherapy
Ultra cold air reduces inflammation, pain, and increases recovery
Ultra cold-air local cryotherapy is better than traditional icing
Unlike traditional cold packs, the goal of ultra-cold air local cryotherapy isn’t about dropping the temperature of muscles and tendons.
Instead, this treatment triggers the body responses because it is so cold and sudden, it triggers natural healing responses faster without cooling muscle temperatures. The beneifis include;
Reduces Local Tissue Inflammation
Reduces Pain
Increase Active Range of Motion
Improves the Appearance of Skin and Reduces Wrinkles and Fine Lines
The Technology
Cryotherapy is the process of applying cold to the body. This can be done through ice packs, water, or in our case, ultra-cold air.
Localized cryotherapy helps recovery by
- Decreasing inflammation
- Reducing pain
- Enhancing range of motion
Localized Cryotherapy targets specific areas of the body with air at -30 degree Celsius.
Due to the extreme cold air, blood vessels narrow down which reduces inflammation and swelling in the target areas.
It also has an impact on decreasing the threshold of nerve endings including thermoreceptors (temperature), nocioceptors (pain), and proprioceptors (position, tension, stretch).
This lets us tap into the central nervous system to reduce pain and increase the range of motion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uOETcuFjbE
What to expect
This treatment is done directly on the affected areas for reducing inflammation and acute pain issues.
Any part like the lower back, upper back, neck, shoulder, wrist, elbow, hip, ankle, knee, and heels can be targeted.
A Localized Cryotherapy session lasts only for 5 to 10 minutes. Much less than the old-styled icing technique used to treat acute pains.
Target areas are checked for temperature before the procedure and continuously administered throughout the treatment. This makes sure that the target area is taken to the exact healing temperature.
Is Localized Cryotherapy Painful?
No. Because its so short in duration and only at a targeted area most people don’t find it painful.
How Is Localized Cryotherapy Different Than Cold Packs or Ice Baths?
- The traditional external method to treat acute pain was using an ice pack to drop the temperature of the tissues.
- Ice packs are very slow to send signals to the brain which later feels the delayed freezing effect to send the blood to the target area to warm it up.
Do I Need To Wear Anything Specific for a Localized Cryotherapy Session?
Wearing loose athletic clothing is fine. You want to be able to easily expose the area of the body to be treated.
Can Everyone Do Localized Cryotherapy?
As a proven safe modality, it great for most healthy people. With that said, there are some conditions when we don’t recommend it including;
- Allergy to cold
- Raynaud’s syndrome
- Disorders of skin sensitivity
- Cryoglobulinaemia
How Many Localized Cryotherapy Sessions Do I Need To Heal An Injury?
It really depends on what is going on. In general we would recommend 5-8 sessions over 14 days to jump start the recovery and healing processes.