Cryotherapy Adventure

Saturday on my Instagram there was an ad for a cryotherapy introductory offer at $19. This is something I had read about celebrities and athletes utilizing in their routines and my curiosity pushed me to go ahead and set an appointment for Sunday.

I was nervous as I woke up and knew I was scheduled at 10:00 to do something very different and felt a bit anxious. Growing up in Montana I was very aware of what sub-zero temperatures felt like and had not been exposed to that for decades! I thought about canceling or just pulling the old no-show but I had to go through with this and see what it was all about.

I arrived 5 minutes before my scheduled entry into what I was seeing as a torture chamber at this point. The first step was signing the wavers and letting them know if I had an event and died it was my own fault. The next step was the explanation of what I was about to take on in the sealed cryotherapy chamber. 3 minutes at sub-zero temperature and I had the opportunity to pick a song to be played while I pushed through the session.

It was go time and now I was told to enter the door on the right into a brief initiation for a 10 count before my entry for the remainder in the frigid box! The initial reaction is incredible as to what you have just committed to as the cold begins to penetrate the clothing you have on and you consciously assess how difficult this is about to be. The first minute flew by and at about the two-minute mark you realize it is having a physiological effect. It becomes a challenge at that point and I stopped watching the clock countdown and began to shadow box and dance. This kept me in the game and she motioned me out after three minutes and I felt such a great sense of relief and accomplishment.

The fight or flight response was fully engaged and adrenaline rushed through my body. After about five minutes the overall sense of well-being was a rush. I felt like I had done something very beneficial and weather or not that was a placebo effect or not is unimportant to me. Feeling good is what matters and if I can live to be healthy at one hundred due to a long series of placebo effects works for me!

Cryotherapy was first experimented with by a Japanese Rheumatologist in 1978. Through decades of studies and as a powerful auto-immune treatment it emerged and became popular for athletic recovery and increasing physical performance. It promotes a natural anti-inflammatory response providing relief from aches and pain. Collagen formation takes place and not only improves skin elasticity but helps repair muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments. Cryotherapy releases endorphins and boosts the metabolic rate making you feel good!

I have had hip and knee replacement surgeries and have another probable hip that will need to have surgery. I am always looking for nonevasive paths to reduce inflammation and pain to delay surgery as long as I possibly can while living an active life! It is only one rep but the early vote from me is a big yes on this and I am going to do a session every week to further my experience.

If you have any experience in this or any other path for improving performance and relieving pain I would love to hear about it and share it with the tribe! Send us a note and we will be grateful for the information.

Email us at john.lohrenz@lpl.com or john_lohrenz_official on instagram