Anyone do cryotherapy for recovery?
- Thread starter joe123!
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Smont
Legend
I haven't, but for what it's worth, There a place near me that offers it, the put a bunch of flyers in the gym and we have had 6 or 7 ppl sign up for there 3 session starter package of sorts and I think only 1 person kept going. The general consensus was that it's not really doing anything. This led me to start looking into it myself and I can't find much if anything that scientifically backs it up either. The ppl who like it I would have to guess it's placebo effect. The combination of no solid evidence coupled with everyone telling me it's not helpful was enough for me.
Edit, if it makes you feel good and it's not breaking your wallet then go for it. Even if it's placebo, if you think it makes you feel good it's no difference then someone going to get a regular haircut or a massage ect.
If you like it, and can afford it, do it
Edit, if it makes you feel good and it's not breaking your wallet then go for it. Even if it's placebo, if you think it makes you feel good it's no difference then someone going to get a regular haircut or a massage ect.
If you like it, and can afford it, do it
joe123!
Member
Just general recovery, cut down on DOMS etc.
As far as research, from my readings I've discovered that it has overlapping benefits of an ice bath, cold shower or cold plunge. The main difference is cryotherapy takes 3 minutes where you have to sit for 20 minutes to get the same effects of a ice bath. Here are some of the basic benefits, they're pretty much the same on all the write-ups that I've seen.
Eases achy muscles. There's some evidence that cold water immersion reduces muscle soreness after exercise. ...
May improve workout recovery. ...
Reduces stress. ...
Cools you down. ... (Duh)
Boosts circulation. ...
Supports a healthy immune system. ...
Gives your mood a boost (circumstantial)
Smont
Legend
There's lots of stuff you can find on the benifits, but there has yet to be a single credible source that can prove any of the benifits. At least to my knowledge. But that doesn't mean it's not working or dosent work. I think if you find it benificial you should do it.
Perfect example is there's a million things that prove BCAAs intra workout don't help. Well guess what, even tho eaa works better for me. I can very easily tell the difference in my recovery with intra workout bcaa vs. Nothing. So if I run out of eaa, I still use bcaa.
If you think it's working and you like it I would do it.
I do want to say one thing though, you shouldn't really need extra recovery from just general working out. I would look more into diet and sleep for that.
How long do some usually last for you.
Lifting 5 days a week and boxing 5 days a week I'm rarely getting Dom's with the exception of a full legs day or after trying something new
Smont
Legend
Was watching some training footage of boxings lb for lb king Canelo Alvarez, apparently he's a big fan of ice baths and the occasional cryotherapy sessions.....
joe123!
Member
Oh absolutely there's tons of athletes that use cryotherapy. Winhoff is a big cold plunge guy, the liver king, Joe Rogan, lots of NFL player etc etc the list of endless. Not saying they're support is proof, but when the top athletes gravitate towards something for recovery, kind of makes you raise your eyebrows.
I'm going to give it a couple more tries, just wanted to determine if it was placebo lol I found a decent price on Groupon so it's not going to break the bank. Hopefully it helps, hate to find out that after 5 sessions all I did was froze my ass off
BBiceps
Well-known member
Fun fact, Canelo left his tub (1 of them) he’s doing his ice baths in in my boxing gym.
To OP, I done both ice bath and cryo sessions and feel I get way more from baths then they cryo, I guess it helps a little with recovery but you won’t feel as “refreshed” as you do after a good ice bath.
Darkhorse192
Well-known member
I am a Wim Hof instructor. It is amazing, but it is more than just ice bath for recovery purposes. There is breathing, and it is much more about mind / body / spirit being put to use in a meditative way. It serves a slightly different purpose for everyone. That said, the ice does some amazing things to the body. There is some data that suggest that the cold has negative implications for hypertrophy, but that is really only if it is done in a window immediately after training. If your ice bath and your training are separated by multiple hours, I believe there is no cause for concern.
joe123!
Member
Resurrecting this thread with my conclusion.
After trying cold showers and cryotherapy weekly for a month, I don't believe it contains enough benefit to continue. It was definitely worth a shot, but it also made me dig into some more research. I found multiple sources from gov, NIH etc. With the same conclusion. Although an ice bath will help with immediate pain, it actually decreases long-term muscle growth. So basically if you were doing some back-to-back sports event and needed a quick fix, it's beneficial. However, the science says it's not a long-term solution for any type of athlete..
My conclusion, I'm passing on the cold craze and sticking with the sauna. It always has an immediate effect of relaxing me and helping me sleep better at night.
After trying cold showers and cryotherapy weekly for a month, I don't believe it contains enough benefit to continue. It was definitely worth a shot, but it also made me dig into some more research. I found multiple sources from gov, NIH etc. With the same conclusion. Although an ice bath will help with immediate pain, it actually decreases long-term muscle growth. So basically if you were doing some back-to-back sports event and needed a quick fix, it's beneficial. However, the science says it's not a long-term solution for any type of athlete..
My conclusion, I'm passing on the cold craze and sticking with the sauna. It always has an immediate effect of relaxing me and helping me sleep better at night.
Smont
Legend
Back in highschool they almost forced us to ice bath after pitching. You could go full body or just the arm, but I always felt like it made it worse in the long run.
But, don't forget the power of placebo, a few pro athletes are fans of cryotherapy in cold baths, I think it's purely placebo effect. But like anything else I disagree with, if it makes you feel better or happy, do it. If it's counter productive then dont
Sparta12
Well-known member
I knew it haha. I do think cold showers in the morning (not if you workout in the morning) still has many benefits, but I would definitely not do it around workout times IF you are trying to gain muscle, if you are a fighter I can see the benefit for inflammation and recovery, as they try not to gain too much muscle generally to stay in their weight category so it doesnt bother them.
joe123!
Member
You nailed it! I could see it being beneficial for runners, bikers triathletes etc who have back to back events. However, I don't know if it would be much benefit to the people here. Most of them are trying to get stronger, bigger etc which the ice baths will holdback.
Report them instead of tagging because I have to delete the quote as well. Thanks!!
TrevorWest
New member
Cryotherapy is an excellent recovery solution. Cryotherapy is based on the body's response to hypothermia on the outside. I used to be skeptical about this treatment because I thought it was ineffective, but my friend talked me into trying it. Thanks to the Invalid Link Removed, my joint pain is gone. I lead an inactive life, so I often have pain in my joints. Now I use Cryptotherapy periodically to get rid of the pain. It is very effective.