Amid the last decade’s boom in the post-workout recovery market, cryotanks hold a special fascination. Cryotanks are the high-tech chambers seemingly sent from the future for whole body cryotherapy (WBC), wherein one’s entire body is exposed to freezing temps — between -90 and -200 degrees Fahrenheit — for a few minutes.
There are different methods: electric whole body cryotherapy, in which users walk in to a room pumped with cold air, and open-faced saunas revealing one’s head and shoulders, which use liquid nitrogen to reach extreme temps. According to WBC and cryotank proponents, both methods kick the body into an anti-inflammatory response and have an anti-oxidant effect, unleashing endorphins and norepinephrine. By tricking the body into survival mode, circulation regulates, metabolism rises, and, ultimately, healing speeds up, they say. It sounds akin to Wolverine’s hyper-restoration powers.
“I tried a Theragun, foam rollers, massage, hot tub, a lot of stretching,” Albano said. He clarified that he wasn’t trying to abate muscle soreness or boost performance — he just wanted to press on. “I had a fitness test before the academy started so I had to heal [my hamstrings] before it started,” Albano recalls. Cue his visit to Brrrr Cryotherapy in San Rafael, CA. After ditching a fluffy robe and entering a nitrogen-cooled open-faced sauna, the cooling commenced.
“It was like standing outside in cold weather if it was snowing and you walked out onto the deck without pants on,” he describes. After a few minutes, during which Albano was told to rotate for even exposure, it was over.
“It didn’t fix the issue, but I think it was in the right direction,” he says of his hamstrings. “My whole body felt good.” Yet for him, the price wasn’t exorbitant at all; he had a discount. It cost him $25. “It’s hard to say if I’d do it again without that discount,” he admits.
Cryotherapy is not a new method. (“Cryotherapy” in itself just means “cold therapy” and also encompasses smaller-scale methods like a regular old icepack). Those suffering from arthritis, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis have also turned to cryotanks, according to the FDA. Yet, cryotanks have really resonated as a hip workout recovery method, thanks to their high-profile users like Lebron James, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Cristiano Ronaldo, the Dallas Mavericks, and other high-profile athletes.
And, there’s a star-power price tag. While there are companies like Groupon that offer deals, average sessions range from $50 to $100. Is up to $100 for an under five-minute service worth the chance of upping athletic performance, or being able to work out more frequently?
We chatted with three experts to examine this cool trend of the past decade: Exercise Physiologist Tom Holland, author of The Micro Workout Plan and host of the podcast Fitness Disrupted; Dr. Alex Harrison, Sport Performance Coach at Renaissance Periodization and former member of Team USA; and Rachel Nesseth Litchfield, Vice President of RISE Prime Wellness health and wellness clinic in San Diego.
There are many supposed benefits beyond inflammation-related woes. They include relieving asthma, migraines, depression, and anxiety. There’s even a theory that it can help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia. That said, it’s key to note that these benefits are largely anecdotal, not research-backed.
According to Nesseth, there are even more benefits: “The health benefits range from improved sleep, increased energy levels, improved mood, decreased muscle soreness, aiding in weight loss, decreased pain, improved presence of collagen in the skin, to name a few.”
For those training at higher levels, Nesseth says, “Endurance athletes will notice the increased duration or intensity of their workouts with WBC and weightlifters will notice improved mobility and power.” She adds that WBC helps stimulate the body’s natural flushing mechanisms and replenish oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood. It can also switch the body to “rest and digest” mode.
“The more oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood is in the muscles, the better performance, both endurance and strength improves,” Nesseth adds.
Know, however, that the scientific studies out there are still uncertain.
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The Studies Are Inconclusive
Nesseth says many athletes will come in specifically to reduce pain after an injury, especially one that impedes their workouts. “Their pain is reduced after cryotherapy,” she says.
Holland says he has had numerous recreational athletes state they found cryotanks to be helpful to recovery from hard workouts. He explained that to induce anti-inflammatory effects, WBC stimulates “the anti-inflammatory response — reduced IL-1β — a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine — and increases IL-10 and IL-1Ra, anti-inflammatory cytokines.” He added other studies show “WBC affects the hormones, decreasing ones typically associated with stress, such as cortisol, and increasing testosterone, a typical anabolic hormone.”
A 2017 review of the literature studying WBC found that it “has been demonstrated to be a preventative strategy against the deleterious effects of exercise-induced inflammation and soreness.” Researchers also wrote that WBC effectiveness may depend on body composition and frequency.
However, a 2015 review of studies on WBC’s potential for preventing and treating muscle soreness after exercise didn’t find strong evidence of this. “Further high‐quality, well‐reported research in this area is required,” researchers wrote.
That being said, Holland said that other studies indicate that cold exposure after exercise can actually impair the body’s ability to heal. There’s a chance it could also decrease benefits of your exercise session, he said.
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Debate Over Sports Performance Enhancement
“Most of our athletes cite feeling like they have more energy and endurance,” Nasseth says. “It also helps them psychologically with overcoming a physically demanding event.” She adds that athletes have claimed that they can add in an extra workout or a longer workout without feeling tired.
“That high energy and performance usually subsides after about 24 to 48 hours, we find. The best performance and continued performance comes if you are consistent with whole-body cryotherapy and do it each day or at least every other day. Many athletes will come in for a session the day of or day before a game or event and then a few more times that week.”
Every day or every other day may be unrealistic for non-celebrity athletes, and Holland isn’t as confident that WBC improves sports performance.
“According to the research into the physiological mechanisms involved — maybe,” says Holland. “If you think it works for you, then it is an ergogenic aid. I believe the benefits are far more mental than physical for most.”
Harrison is doubtful. “It is highly unlikely that cryotank use helps athletes perform better,” he says. “There are probably more useful ways to improve endurance performance.” He mentions saunas and their potential positive effects on heat tolerance and blood volume as an example.
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The Placebo Effect?
“There is nothing more powerful than the placebo effect,” Holland says. So if you’re confident that stepping into a cryotank will heal, invigorate, or stimulate you, it just might.
For Albano, the fire academy hopeful we spoke to earlier, he surmised this played a role. “I think a little bit of time when it wasn’t swollen for a couple hours gave me the confidence to think, ‘Oh, I can work out tomorrow again!”
Harrison said one benefit he’s seen is boosted morale. “Don’t overlook the large benefit a strong placebo can have on a person. Probably not the best thing to go chasing big expensive placebo effects all the time though.”
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Getting Rest is Still the Best
Harrison says the best way to recover after a workout is to, well, recover in the first way our bodies know how: sleep. He instructs clients to increase sleep quality and quantity.
Holland agrees. “I believe the body needs to go through its natural healing process,” he said. “I would focus instead on two less expensive and proven methods of recovery: post-exercise nutrition/hydration and sleep.”
Harrison says in lieu of WBC, “Spending one’s time and resources on sleep would be a far better use. Please keep in mind that I’m not one to spare an expense in searching for ‘the edge.’ I personally spent $10,000 and 100-plus hours of my own time and hard work on a bobsled push track facility construction that lasted two years in my preparation for the 2018 Olympics. I would not spend 30 minutes driving to the nearest cryotank facility if treatment was absolutely free to me even if I had 2022 winter Olympic dreams on the line.”
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The Verdict
There’s still the need for many more studies to clarify this picture. However, the experts seem to agree that a large quantity of cryotank WBC yields the most potential benefits: Holland suggests 20 sessions are optimal, where Nesseth says every day, or at least every other day, is best.
Nesseth, whose clinic offers yoga and physical therapy in conjunction with WBC, swears by it. “Do you use muscles while doing your activity? Then cryotherapy will help you,” she says.
That said, Harrison and Holland recommend against it. And considering the high price, we’re going to say it’s likely not worth it for an average gym goer to incorporate it into their routine.
