Cryotherapy: why are so many athletes turning to the ice-cold treatment for recovery?
- It looks like something out of a science fiction film, but exposing yourself to freezing temperatures is becoming all the rage in the sporting world
The social media posts are popping up like crazy: Franck Ribery, Michael Phelps, Gareth Bale, LeBron James and Floyd Mayweather all standing in metal tubes with their heads popping out, surrounded by white mist.
While it looks like something out of a science fiction film, the rise of cryotherapy for athletes is real, and the scientific literature is gaining traction.
The practice, which involves people exposing their bodies to extremely cold temperatures (sometimes -104 degrees Celsius) for a few minutes, now has devout followers in various athletic disciplines. The routine of ice baths has been around a long time, however cryotherapy takes things to the next level.
Cryotherapy machines, which cost at least US$30,000, commonly use liquid nitrogen to create a freezing cold temperature.
A Harvard Medical School blog post noted cryotherapy may “reduce soreness in the short term and accelerate the perception of recovery after certain activities” but that it does not significantly alter the amount of muscle damage (as reflected in blood tests) after intense exercise.
A 2014 study in Northern Ireland found no more benefit from cryotherapy on specific injuries than regular ice packs, however it did note that cryotherapy has been shown to have a consistent effect on animal models when it comes to “important cellular and physiological events associated with inflammation after injury”.