Short answer, Not really. I’ll explain further.
Cryotherapy is a method of recovery which is done by
lowering the skin temperature of the body. Some of the most common modalities
are ice packs, ice massages, gels and cooling creams. Recently whole-body
cryotherapy (WBC) chambers have been introduced to high level foot ball and
rugby teams. But is this new, and costly, method really the best way to enhance
recovery through cryotherapy?
I hit the research hard. One of the first studies I found
from Hausswirth,
el al (2011) claims the benefits of WBC on highly trained runners. One
large flaw in this study is that the other modalities involved were far-infrared
(not a highly reliable modality) and basically sitting in a chair for ten
minutes. These two “sham” modalities would, of course, show that WBC is a reliable
way to recover after running. It’s
studies like this that make me angry. They manipulate the data by introducing two
modalities they know won’t work to “prove” that WBC is reliable.
Other research I won’t even mention here were studies paid
for and sponsored by companies that make WBC chambers. I don’t give research
like this the time of day. Many involve manipulated data to sell a product to
teams that can afford it.
A more recent study by Viera,
et al (2015) studied the effect of WBC on a vertical jump after high
intensity training by placing participants in a chamber at the suggested -110
degrees for 3 minutes and a control temperature of 21 degrees for the same
time. In this study there was no significant difference between the WBC and
control group. Thus, suggesting that some of the “benefits” of WBC are possibly
due to the placebo effect.
One of the better studies from Holmes
& Willoughby (2016) looked at previous studies and compared WBC to cold
water immersion on recovery and skin temperature. One of the claims of WBC is
that the extremely cold temperature is more effective at lowering the skin
temperature than other modalities. In this study participants used a WBC
chamber at -110 to -120 degrees for 2-4 minutes and cold-water immersion at
8-14 degrees for 5-10 minutes. The results showed that using cold water immersion
lowers the skin, muscle and core temperature more effectively than WBC. The study
suggests that further high-level studies on WBC be performed to confirm their
claims.
My personal opinion is that WBC is very expensive and some
of the membership rates are well over £100 a month. Most people would not use
the WBC more than once or twice a week, making it a very expensive means of
recovery. Plus, it means coming home from your run or workout, getting in the
car, driving to a centre, going in a chamber for 3 whole minutes then driving
back home. A lot of effort when you can simply fill your tub with cool water
once you get home and sit and chill in it. Studies are not conclusive of its claims,
and with that kind of cost, you may be better off buying a gym membership or hiring
a personal trainer.
However, saying that, its definitely worth trying. I will admit though getting a snapshot of
yourself in the mittens, slippers and headband in a chamber is pretty cool, but unless it works for you, it’s just a lot of money for cold air.
If you have any questions about sports therapy, sports injuries and cryotherapy please feel free to email me sara@prestigesportinjury.co.uk
