Cryotherapy promises a chilled solution to a range of ailments
FOR the sake of their health, some people are using liquid nitrogen vapour to expose themselves to temperatures as low as -160°C."Cryotherapy was developed in 1978 by Dr Toshima Yamauchi of Japan for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, chronic pain, and inflammation," says Eugene Pienaar, founder and CEO of CryoLiving in Cape Town, the first company to offer cryotherapy treatments in SA."In Europe alone, there are approximately 400 whole-body cryotherapy facilities in various hospitals and approximately 12,000 physiotherapists offer localised cryotherapy."Cryotherapy (also referred to as cryostimulation) is not the same as normal icing of an injury. Ice baths cool down the body, slowing down the blood flow, enzyme activity and cellular metabolism. This makes it ideal for acute or new injuries. But cryotherapy, which stimulates only the top level of the skin (and is, therefore, nowhere near as unbearable as might be expected), has the opposite effect."Your body registers this extr...
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