What Is Cryotherapy And How Does It Benefit You? 

A therapy that uses cold temperatures refers to cryotherapy. Many use it to make the body respond to the treatment, whether it’s done in a highly targeted way or locally.

Localized cryotherapy includes using ice baths, coolant sprays, and ice massage or ice packs. The main goal is to lower your tissue’s temperature. As for general cryotherapy, you immerse your whole body in extremely cold temperatures for a short time. That’s why others refer to it as cold therapy. By having such treatment, you can get the following benefits: 

1. Weight Loss 

Although many are skeptical about losing weight with cryotherapy, the theory is that the extremely low temperature pushes your body to work hard to keep your body warm. When it does, you burn hundreds of calories. What’s more is that regular cryotherapy may help boost one’s metabolism. A higher metabolic rate means calories are being burned faster.  

Moreover, the brown adipose tissue (BAT) is responsible for turning fat into energy by burning it when exposed to cold temperatures. With such, cryotherapy may help in processing glucose. Since sugar is more likely to become fat, increased sugar metabolism may be a factor in losing weight. It’s because the body can turn sugar into energy quickly.  

Another theory behind cryotherapy for weight loss treatment is that it kills the fat cells in your body by freezing them. With such, the fat cells are permanently removed and filtered out of the body. To make it more effective, partner cryotherapy with a balanced diet and regular exercise. 

2. Arthritic Pain 

Another reason why most people prefer cryotherapy is to relieve the pain they feel from arthritis. Cryotherapy may also help with other arthritis-related conditions, like autoimmune complications, neuralgia, and inflammation, all of which cause discomfort and pain.  

Cryotherapy helps decrease swelling or inflammation caused by arthritis. When left untreated, the swelling in and around the joints can make it difficult for one to perform tasks. The cold temperatures flush out cellular waste and toxins by making your lymphatic ducts pump lymph and contract its ducts. As a result of activating your lymphatic system, cold therapy can decrease inflammation.  

Besides activating your lymphatic system, cold therapy also allows more white blood cells to spread throughout your body because your blood vessels dilate during the treatment. With this, they calm your body’s inflammatory response and destroy dangerous substances in the lymph. 

Moreover, cryotherapy may also help with an autoimmune disorder like rheumatoid arthritis. Since your body’s cells attack connective tissues and joints that result in inflammation and joint destruction, the cold temperature may suppress them by decreasing the cold temperature in your joints.   

3. Migraine 

Moreover, cryotherapy may also aid in migraine. By numbing and cooling the nerves in your neck area, it reduces migraine symptoms. This treatment is a classic example of localized cryotherapy. Some use two frozen ice packs wrapped around the neck. It targets the carotid arteries so it can significantly cool the blood passing through intracranial vessels. That’s why it’s a fast remedy to reduce migraine symptoms. 

Conclusion 

Although cryotherapy is expensive, you may try and see if it can help with your situation. It may aid in increasing your metabolism so your body can burn more fat. Or, you may also use it to treat pains or inflammation caused by migraine or arthritis. Moreover, you can choose from a whole-body or localized cryotherapy, depending on your condition.