Broadly speaking, cryotherapy1 is any kind of body cooling for therapeutic purposes. The kind most people are referring to when they talk about cryotherapy is whole-body cryotherapy (WBC), which involves brief exposures to temperatures below -100 degrees Celsius in a cryotherapy chamber. Cryotherapy can also refer to treatments that target specific parts of the body, like cryotherapy facials, which focus, obviously, on the face, or medical cryotherapy, which is used by doctors to freeze off warts or cancerous cells. Here’s what you need to know about cryotherapy, which of its benefits have been backed up by science, and which are still relying on anecdotal evidence. Darshan Shah, M.D., founder of Next Health and Wellness, a spa and treatment hybrid space in Los Angeles that offers cryotherapy in addition to IV infusions, vitamin shots, and other health optimization treatments, weighed in on the effectiveness of cryotherapy. “We have known for years the benefits of cold plunge in collagen stimulation, reduction of inflammation, and production of endorphins and norepinephrine in the brain,” Dr. Shah told mbg. “Cryotherapy creates the conditions for the same benefits in two and a half to three and a half minutes, without the discomfort of being in cold water. Although much research still needs to be done, we have anecdotally seen the resolution of joint pain, sleep improvement, weight loss, and collagen stimulation in the thousands of treatment sessions we have performed.” By the early 2000s, research into the uses of cryotherapy had expanded, and scientists were exploring the possibility of using cryo as a treatment for arthritis pain3 due to decreased inflammation. The whole-body cryotherapy chambers that were developed for these treatments soon became popular among athletes4, many of whom believe that cryotherapy will help reduce inflammation and enhance recovery after exercise. From there, cryo spread to mainstream use, proving popular among amateur athletes and fitness and wellness enthusiasts, in particular. Ben Greenfield, human performance consultant, has been experimenting with cryotherapy in his own routine. “I’ve had a long history of cold water swimming with Iron Man triathlons and other races,” he told mbg. “For my own personal use of cryotherapy I typically do a cold shower at the beginning or end of the day. I also do a longer cold soak for 15-20 minutes once per week; and in the summer, I will use the cool fat burner or cool gut burner vest to enhance the white adipose to brown adipose tissue conversion. Finally, I sleep in a room with a cold temperature, and I also sleep on a Chili Pad, which circulates cold water underneath while I’m asleep. I tend to keep the house temperature slightly cooler so the body has mild cold thermogenesis throughout the day.” The primary reason that many people decide to try cryotherapy (pain relief and muscle recovery) is, thankfully, the one with the most research to back it up. Cryotherapy has been shown to reduce pain5 for patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Many athletes and fitness lovers are drawn to cryotherapy as a way of aiding recovery from exercise. A 2017 study did find that cryotherapy can help relieve pain and speed healing. However, it’s worth noting that the same study found that cold-water immersion (an ice bath) is actually more effective in aiding muscle recovery than whole-body cryotherapy. While some studies do support the idea that cryotherapy helps improve muscle recovery, not all of them do. In 2014, a review of several different studies4 related to cryotherapy and pain relief and muscle recovery found that, overall, it had very little impact. Basically, the jury is still out on cryo as an effective treatment for muscle pain and recovery, but at least researchers are actively studying its impact in these areas. Cryotherapy is being studied as a treatment for several other conditions. In 20126, researchers hypothesized that cryo might be a preventive treatment for dementia and cognitive decline because of its ability to reduce inflammation, which is associated with the conditions. Other studies have looked into cryo as a treatment for eczema and migraines7. In both cases, cryotherapy was shown to reduce, but not fully eliminate, the symptoms of the conditions. While it’s not a health risk, per se, there’s also the risk that you’ll invest lots of your hard-earned money into cryotherapy only to be disappointed with the results. Some studies suggest it doesn’t actually deliver on its promises of muscle pain relief. What’s more, the FDA8 considers claims about cryotherapy’s effectiveness so dubious, it’s issued a formal consumer update explaining its risks and potential ineffectiveness. “Given a growing interest from consumers in whole-body cryotherapy, the FDA has informally reviewed the medical literature available on this subject,” Aron Yustein, M.D., a medical officer in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, explained in the consumer update. “We found very little evidence about its safety or effectiveness in treating the conditions for which it is being promoted.” Typically, cryotherapy centers don’t allow employees to use the cryo chambers unsupervised—which Ake-Salvacion reportedly did. Her employer, Rejuvenice, stood by the treatment, explaining in a statement at the time, “We firmly believe in whole-body cryotherapy treatments for pain management, athletic recovery, detoxification and a variety of other ailments. Millions of treatments have been given safely all over the world for more than 20 years.” While there isn’t much in the way of research into cryo facials, there is a study10 that suggests you might experience skin discoloration after cryotherapy treatment, particularly if you’ve been tanning. According to integrative dermatologist Cybele Fishman M.D., cryotherapy can have collagen-inducing effects, but there may be a more direct way to achieve your skin goals. “If you want to induce collagen, then causing a wound (like with laser or chemical peels or microneedling) will induce collagen,” Dr. Fishman told mbg. “But blowing some liquid nitrogen near your face is not going to do much, and too aggressive an application can actually cause scarring. While there is a fine window where it will work like a chemical peel, taking off dead skin and stimulating collagen, I would say there is probably a more targeted treatment to better suit your needs and goals,” she said. The research here is actually promising—a 2008 study11 found that one-third of participants reported reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression by as much as 50 percent after undergoing cryotherapy, which is significant if the results are replicable. As of now, more research is needed.
