Whole Body Cryotherapy: Reflections On My 7/28/18 Session
Today, like in my previous two posts, I completed my cryotherapy session around 10:30 am. I’m
writing about around 4:30 pm, where I’m interweaving information about the therapy and my
response.
First off: Cold heals.
Cold therapy includes ice packs, ice baths, and “cold saunas” (whole body cryotherapy (WBC)).
Many of us have used “cold” to reduce soreness in our joints and muscles after an intense
workout, to reduce the discomforts from a sprain or a pulled muscle, or to reduce inflammation
after some types of surgery.
The “cold” triggers the body to send out signals and chemicals to protect itself, thus inducing
“healing.”
In my third weekly session, like my previous two, I felt an overall sense of rest and relaxation
and a sense of lightness of being.
As in the previous two weeks, after a session around 10:30 am, I ran a few errands, and after
arriving at home, I lounged and napped for about four hours.
During this session, my forehead felt like it was about to break out into a sweat. I had experienced the same sensations as in the previous treatment. How ironic? A sweating forehead while in a chamber that is minus 230 degrees (F).
One explanation for the feeling of a “sense of sweating” is the heart is pumping fast, just like in
an intense workout. The WBC is giving my body a workout, and in an intense workout, I sweat.
Immediately after exiting the chamber, my body temperature as measured along my left quad
was 49.7 degrees (F). The goal is to get the body temperature to 50 degrees (F). My body
temperature along my forehead was 92 degrees (F).
After the body temperature as measured along my quad starts rising, I leave the room where the
chamber is.
The lightness — the effervescence – has lingered for several hours since my session this morning,
and based on past practice, I expect to stay for several more hours.
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