Cryotherapy: What is it and what is it for?

Most commonly we can see high-performance athletes sink into tubs filled with ice water or cold chambers after very intense workouts. As it turns out this is a type of therapy called Cryotherapy, which is popularly known as ice baths.

According to physiotherapists at Kinemed, the topic of plunging into ice water has been widely debated and there are still divided opinions. The reality is that at a professional level it is frequently used in martial arts, Football, CrossFit, Athletics and many other sports in which it is occasionally trained with very high intensity.

But what effect is caused by immersing in ice water?

Simple, the cold by excellence promotes vasoconstriction (reduction of the diameter of the blood vessels by the contraction of the muscular fibers), as well as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect that could be very beneficial to recover from training processes or competitions in which the muscle fibers suffer minor injuries, which we sometimes do not even notice.

Personally I have used it several times, specifically after martial arts competitions in which obviously my body had a lot of traumas.

My result: I actually had positive results in muscle recovery (less pain and swelling, for less time).

Unless you have $40,000 to spend on a special cryotherapy chamber (as the one in the photo), I recommend going to the 3-letter hardware store (joke for Costa Ricans) and buying a stall to fill it with ice water to try this therapy from home by following these recommendations:

-It has to be done just after the physical activity.

-The temperature should reach less than -40 degrees Celsius to be effective. The optimum point is -100 degrees, however this level of precision is achieved with special Cryotherapy chambers (Yes, those are very expensive).

-You should remain between 7 to 10 minutes immersed in water.

-The immersion should focus on the most used and/or affected musculature and joints.

I will not lie to you, the first 3 minutes you may suffer a little, but then the body feels numb and the rest of the time is tolerated without any problem.

Happy Cryotherapies!

#english