I am not a doctor nor is there any scientific proof of the effectiveness of Cryotherapy. I come to talk about a personal experience which has had some surprising results I wish to share. I have come to testing Cryotherapy in Paris after talking to a good friend of mine who was visiting from LA. He asked me if I had ever tried it. I said no but read a lot about it and knew that a lot of professional elite athletes and celebrities use it. What triggered me to make the move and test it is the fact I had a surfing injury on my shoulder for months which was becoming increasingly painful. My friend who practices Muay Thai Boxing had the same type of injury and pain which disappeared by doing Cryotherapy. He told me I should give it a go and that he now does it on a regular basis for his wellbeing. So I searched and found a Cryotherapy center near me and booked one session to test it out. When in the centre, you are asked to take your clothes off and only keep your boxers on. Some gloves, socks and Crocks are handed to you in order to protect your extremities. You then step into a tank which adjusts about to shoulder height with your head sticking out. There is someone to assist you during the whole process, who will talk to you and monitors the session which lasts from 3 to 4 minutes. When in the tank you are first plunged to temperatures that are at -110°C which gradually goes down to -140°C. It’s a bit of a challenge as I hate the cold and therefore it was good to have someone make some small talk to take your attention off the freezing temperatures. Before you know it, it’s already over and you then sat down to recover with some warm tea or coffee. Upon leaving the center I immediately felt like I was floating on clouds, had cotton legs and felt incredibly relaxed and was on a natural high. The next day with a very good night sleep, I noticed I wasn’t in pain as I usually was upon waking up. I was astonished by the result I had booked another 4 sessions to make sure I would fully recover before heading to Bali and surf again. I can now attest that the pain has left to 95% and feel some light reminiscent pain which is only 5% to what I used to experience. And I can now go back surfing everyday without any issue on my shoulder and will definitely do some more Cryotherapy sessions.
TRD: While I am not Hans Solo and hate the cold I was surprised by its benefits.
Did you know: Some health professionals use Cryotherapy to relieve pain and inflammation from conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, ankylosing spondylitis and injuries.