For many years, scientists have known that cold temperatures benefit the body. Cold compresses have been used for centuries to relieve swelling, pain and headaches. In recent decades, doctors have been using a different type of focused cold therapy called cryotherapy.
This procedure reduces pain and inflammation, and it also has a variety of other health benefits. Cryotherapy involves the use of liquid nitrogen to produce sub-zero temperatures, which can drop rapidly to maximize beneficial reactions. This non-invasive therapy only takes a few minutes but can produce long-lasting results. This is how cryotherapy treats pain.
Sensation Reduction
When your skin comes into contact with extremely cold temperatures, your body naturally reduces its sensory nerve conduction and motor functions.
This means that your nerves are calmed, and they send fewer pain signals to your brain. The result is a fast-acting feeling of pain relief.
Vasoconstriction
Cold temperatures cause your blood vessels to constrict and then widen. The result of this action combination is increased blood flow. This lowers your blood pressure and controls reflexes that affect your heart rate.
When more blood pumps through your larger vessels, it is also distributed to capillaries and other parts of your body. More blood means more nutrients, oxygen and enzymes. These important components of blood help speed up healing of damaged muscle and connective tissue. As injuries heal, your pain is reduced.
Inflammation Reduction
Another benefit of cool temperatures is that they reduce swelling and inflammation. For many people, pain is connected to inflammation. When inflammatory responses of muscle tissues and joints happen after exercise or an injury, chronic pain develops.
People who suffer from chronic pain due to an illness or injury can benefit from regular cryotherapy sessions. Infections can also cause inflammation. Cold therapy benefits the immune system and immune responses in the body, and it can help fight off long-lasting infections.
Muscle Relaxation
Since cold temperatures slow down nerve and motor responses, your body can relax. Most people say that they feel their muscles loosen up when they sit in a cryosauna or have local cryo treatments. When motor functions are reduced, your muscles can expand and contract normally.
For many people, pain may be caused by improper muscle movements. By relaxing them, you allow your muscles to return to normal movement patterns.
Also, your heart rate lowers when temperatures are colder. This puts you in a state of mental relaxation as well, and the endorphins that are released due to the rapid freezing help boost your mood as well.
Cryotherapy In NYC
If you have chronic pain from an illness, injury or infection, cryotherapy can help. It can also help if you are trying to get back to an exercise routine but lack the motivation or flexibility. At Advanced Cryo NYC, we offer local cryo treatments for specific areas of injury.
If your pain is throughout your entire body or in multiple regions, we also have cryosaunas for whole-body cryotherapy. This quick and painless treatment may greatly improve your quality of life. Please contact us to learn more about treatment options or to set up a consultation.
