Elite Sports Therapy & Wellness is proud to announce that Whole Body Cryotherapy is now available in Highland Park! Whole Body Cryotherapy is a hyper-cooling process that lowers a person’s skin temperature to approximately 30˚ F for a period of up to three minutes. This is achieved by exposing the body to extreme temperatures that exceed -240˚ F.
Cryotherapy is a cutting edge recovery and healing tool that Europeans have been utilizing for the last 30 years and has recently become available in the U.S. within the last few years. With it’s growing popularity, athletes and celebrities around the world have used cryotherapy with great results and have brought significant amounts of publicity to the therapy, seen with Lindsay Lohan, Labron James and Floyd Mayweather, to name a few in recent weeks. The effects of cryotherapy make it an emerging and popular option for recovery with athletes as it reduces inflammation, aids in rehab & recovery and increases metabolism. People with arthritis and joint pain are taking advantage of this technology, which for most is proving to be life changing by improving their quality of life. Cryotherapy is also used for a host of other benefits including many who use it for anti-aging benefits, including increased production of collagen, improved elasticity of the skin, and have reported reduction in cellulite. There are several peer reviewed clinical studies noting significant improvements in sleep as well as reductions in stress levels and anxiety. People “Hooked on Cryo” feel great, sleep well, and report a surge of energy that lasts throughout the day.
Skin:
The outer skin is briefly ‘frozen’, activating increased production of collagen in deeper layers of the skin. (similar to lasers treatments of the face, where very hot temperatures are used). The skin regains elasticity and becomes smoother and even-toned, significantly improving conditions such as cellulite and skin aging.
Skin Vessels and capillaries undergo severe vasoconstriction (to keep the core temperature from dropping), followed by vasodilation after the procedure. Toxins and other stored deposits are flushed out of the layers and blood perfusion is improved after several treatments.
The anti-inflammatory properties of cryotherapy are also used to treat chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis and dermatitis.
Endocrine:
The extreme cold exposure causes to the body to turn up its metabolic rate in order to produce heat. This effect lasts for 5-8 hours after the procedure, causing the body to ‘burn’ 500 - 800 Kcalories for the rest of the day following the procedure. After several procedures the increase in metabolic rate tends to last longer between treatments. Another ‘survival reaction’ to the extreme temperatures is the release of endorphins (hormones) that have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, and improve mood disorders.
Cryotherapy has been studied for the successful treatment of medication resistant depressive disorders. Patients furthermore experience a noticeable increase in libido, lending to the use of cryotherapy for ED and other sexual disorders.