Cryotherapy, one of the best kept healing secrets, is making big news this year as movie stars and athletes alike seek out this cool non-evasive therapy, which freezes parts of the body in a minus 180 C.

Do you feel like exposing your body to freezing temperatures resembling Antarctica, the coldest spot on Earth? Well, enter a cryotherapy chamber. This latest therapy to hit the Middle East involves entering a freezing chamber, with a temperature that can reach -180 C, using pressured liquid nitrogen vapors. Try holding an ice cube against your skin for half a minute; it’s unpleasant, but not unbearable. When the skin is exposed to liquid nitrogen the feeling is similar, just colder. What’s the point? Well, as the skin’s surface is frozen through exposure to the cold, blood is encouraged to rush from the skin and muscles to the care of the body, enhancing elasticity and soothing sore limbs. And after exiting the chamber, your red blood cells are flushed to the extreme providing anti-inflammatory properties. The concept to cryotherapy originated from Japan and was pioneered in Europe as a way to relieve chronic pain and arthritis for patients and to help speed up the healing process after surgery. The cold air helps control swelling and inflammation as well as reducing overall pain.

Chilly Cure:

Cryotherapy provides a non-invasive treatment, speeding the healing process for many ailments, including:

-Treats acne, eczema and psoriasis

-Cares for muscle inflammation, arthritis, headaches, migraines and osteoporosis

-Speeds up the body’s recovery after intense physical training

-Tightens skin reducing wrinkles and cellulite

-Promotes a deeper sleep

-Improves the inflammatory response, which leads to a better recovery

-Boosts metabolism, useful for weight loss and energy levels

-Increases neuro-muscular response

-Treats a variety of superficial benign (non-cancerous) lesions, warts and other benign lesions

Glacial Therapy

As a non-invasive treatment cryotherapy has become extremely popular in the field of professional sports and athletics. Actually, icy therapy is nothing new; using ice packs is one of the oldest therapeutic treatments used to accelerate recovery from an injury. But the cold in a cryotherapy chamber is far more intense than an icepack and can target the whole body relieving swollen joints and sore muscles, even providing an instant energy boost, which is why it is popular with football players during the Champions League season.

“The countless benefits of cryotherapy are sought out by all kinds of people from different age ranges and body types. From muscle and injury recovery, to weight loss, skin rejuvenation, fighting acne and scars... the list goes on,” says Benny Parihar, Managing Partner of CRYO Health in Dubai. With her partner, Kai Stubbe, she opened the first Cryo Health facility in Emirates Towers in Dubai 2013.

Beauty Boost

Cryotherapy facial

As a beauty treatment, cryotherapy works in a similar manner. The pressurized liquid nitrogen vapors activate increased production of collagen in the deeper layers of the skin, allowing it to regain elasticity. As the therapy tightens the skin, it can also combat cellulite with visible results after just one session. As the body freezes, the blood vessels widen, allowing more oxygen to reach the cells, and the extreme cold temperature leaves the skin looking smoother and tighter.

How it’s done: After cleansing the skin, a therapist applies a gentle acid peel. A stream of liquid nitrogen vapors delivers ultra-cold temperature from the cryotherapy machine to the skin. Afterwards a moisturizer is applied and skin is left radiant and tight, with blemishes minimized and pores closed. Non-intrusive and with fast results, cryotherapy is on its way to overtake treatments like Botox in popularity, simply because nothing is injected into the body.

Cryo Health

The concept is the first facility of it’s kind in the region. It is so successful they are looking to open eight new locations in the GCC in the next few years. Cryo Health offers localized treatments for specific areas like ankle and joints.

The feel-good factor

When the whole body is exposed to cryotherapy the immediate effect of skin cooling brings pain relief that lasts for minutes, but the resulting release of endorphins can reduce pain and inflammation in some people for weeks. Women who have just given birth or are recovering from surgery can benefit from it to manage pain as a non-intrusive treatment to cool down tissue temperatures and relieve muscle spams an swelling. The therapy is also great together with exercise and dieting to help speed-up weight loss results and to help women and men get into shape.

“Cryotherapy is a quick, painless and non-invasive way to reach numerous health and beauty benefits. The three-minutes ‘whole body cryotherapy’ treatment is known for benefits such as cellulite reduction and increased metabolism and caloric burn up to 800 calories in a single session, while the facials help with reduction of spotting and pigmentation, as well as reduction of fine lines and wrinkles for healthier, beautiful looking skin,” Parihat says. “Local cryotherapy on the other hand is used for muscle and injury recovery as well as helping with pain relief.” It is also a curative treatment for acne and scar removal.

Does it sound too good to be true? Well, go ahead and take a step into the cold. As the temperatures are on the rise in our part of the world, walk into a chamber chillier than Antarctica, the coldest spot on Earth. Seems like a good idea, especially when bearing in mind the cool results.

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