Sprains are among the most common athletic injuries, and most athletes experience some type of sprain during their career. A sprain is the result of over-stretching and tearing of ligaments that connect bone to bone at a joint. It causes pain and swelling, and can range from a minor injury that resolves in a few days, to a major rupture that takes weeks or even months to heal.
Because an injury during the playing season can take an athlete out of the game, and even be career-ending, most injured athletes want to recover as quickly as possible. In addition to rest and physical therapy, cryotherapy can help reduce pain and speed recovery as an athletic sprain heals.
Common Athletic Sprains
The most common sites of athletic sprains are the ankle, knee and wrist.
- Ankle sprains: Ankle sprains occur in all types of sports, especially those played at high velocities that require rapid directional changes, like basketball, football, soccer, tennis and other popular sports.
- Knee sprains: Sports that involve weight-bearing while pivoting or twisting put athletes at a high risk of knee injury. The anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is a common site of injury that can take a player out of the game for months.
- Wrist sprains: Common in sports like basketball, gymnastics, baseball, skiing and skating, wrist sprains occur when an athlete falls and the wrist makes contact with the ground. In a wrist sprain, the ligaments that attach the hand to the wrist become stretched or torn.
Benefits of Cryotherapy for Athletic Sprains
Cold therapy has long been a remedy for soft tissue injuries. Soaking a sprained ankle in ice water to ease pain and reduce swelling is common practice, as is applying ice packs to a sprained wrist or knee. Cold therapy reduces inflammation and deadens nerve endings to alleviate pain. However, ice baths and ice packs are uncomfortable and inconvenient, and they only provide limited relief.
Cryotherapy is a new approach to cold therapy that harnesses the cooling benefits of liquid nitrogen vapor. While ice packs begin to melt quickly, maintaining a temperature of 32° F or warmer, liquid nitrogen can deliver sub-freezing cold vapor of -240° F or colder, meaning a more intense cold exposure for a shorter amount of time. With cryotherapy, discomfort is minimized, while the benefits of cold therapy are maximized.
Fewer Drugs and Faster Recovery
Cryotherapy is a fast, safe and efficient way to reduce pain and swelling and speed up healing. Localized cryotherapy is administered by a clinician using a wand-like devise that directs nitrogen vapor to the site of injury. Whole body cryotherapy exposes your entire body to cooling vapor inside an enclosed chamber, helping to eliminate excess fluid and enhance cell regeneration.
Regular cryotherapy sessions can dramatically reduce pain, eliminating the need for addictive and harmful pain medications.
Athletic Injury Recovery in NYC
If you are suffering from an athletic injury, the trained clinicians at InVia Cryo NYC are ready to help. Conveniently located in the heart of SoHo, InVita Cryo NYC offers both whole body and localized cryotherapy treatments. Don’t wait for time alone to heal your injury. Speed up your recovery and get back in the game with cryotherapy.
