How far would you go to try to lose weight? You might have tried the keto diet, cambridge diet, running on the Lekki-Ikoyi link bridge and even wiring your jaw shut. But would you consider a cold ice bath?
Cryotherapy is a spa therapy whereby you immerse yourself in frozen cold water filled with ice blocks. Another option for cryotherapy is standing in a cylindrical chamber filled with cold air cooled by liquid nitrogen where the body is exposed to sub zero temperatures as low as −140°c. The baths are about 50 – 59 degrees and you’re required to stay in it for about 10 -15 minutes or however long you can endure. With the dry chamber, users stand in it for one to three minutes.
Cryotherapy chamber
(Living social )
While in the chamber or bath, the signals from the human brain cause blood to rush to the core of your body to keep warm this increases metabolism and body heat. The effects of the treatment can lead to weight loss. According to Australian health spa Cryo, 500 – 800 calories can be lost eight hours after each treatment. This is because the therapy causes a blood rush, increasing your metabolic rate and this aids weight loss. Other after effects also includes pain relief, and a boost of the immune system.
Ice baths are usually popular with athletes. After intense physical workouts they use this to relieve their sore muscle and repair body tissues. It’s believed that it speeds up the recovery process. American boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. as well as NBA superstars such as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James speak highly of using the cryotherapy dry chamber.
Floyd Mayweather taking an ice bath
(YouTube/Combat Sports)
Besides weight loss and pain management, some Cryo experts say this can also aid stress management, better sleep, calm inflammation, relieve skin conditions and release endorphins.
There have been debates that there is no basis to the theory of cryotherapy. Other than the exposure to cold, the shock of the ice bath temperature can prove to be risky for people with blood pressure issues. For those who use the chambers, there are risks of frostbite.
