Evidence Backed Benefits of Cryotherapy
I recently wrote about the evidence backed health benefits of sauna usage. Yes, it turns out that getting hot and sweaty can do amazing things for your health and wellbeing. What happens at the other end of the spectrum? What happens when you methodically expose yourself to the cold? Now it is time to take a look at the evidence backed benefits of cryotherapy.
Firstly, what is cryotherapy. Quite simply, it can refer to any method of exposing the whole body to extremely cold temperature. Unsurprisingly, this leads to a reduction of tissue temperature, and core body temperature[1]. This shock to the system activates the autonomic nervous system, which in turn effects bodily functions such as; restricting blood flow, activating the endocrine system, and altering your heart rate and heart rate variability[2].
Periods of cryotherapy can involve something as simple as a cold shower, to a plunge pool, and right through to high-tech cryochambers. There are a number of studies that suggest that regular cryotherapy sessions can have a wide range of benefits, including reducing pain, reducing inflammation, and speeding up recovery[3]. Let’s take a look at some of the specific benefits of consistently exposing yourself to cold temperatures.
You are probably familiar with the concept of professional athletes using ice baths to aid with recovery. This is the most well known purported benefit of cold therapy. There are now quite a few studies examining the potential for cryotherapy to aid post exercise muscle recovery. The findings are interesting.
One study found that cryotherapy does help athletes to recover faster and recover better, potentially due to enhanced oxygenation of the muscles, greater work efficiency, and a reduction in cardiovascular strain[4]. Another study found similar results, and also suggests that cryotherapy offers superior benefits when compared with other methods such as far infrared[5].
Furthermore, cryotherapy has been shown to help with overtraining. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, cryotherapy may also help with recovery through improving sleep patterns, decreasing levels of fatigue, and a facilitating noticeably increased exercise capacity[6].
As well as helping your muscles recover, cryotherapy may also have the potential to improve joint function and associated diseases, such as arthritis. Multiple studies showed that cryotherapy reduced pain and improved joint mobility in rheumatoid arthritis sufferers, with the effects lasting up to 3 months[7][8][9][10][11][12].
Whilst most research has focused on the power of cryotherapy to help those with debilitating illnesses, there is a general body of evidence to suggest that cryotherapy can help improve joint function in healthy individuals[13][14]. This potentially works in harmony with the way in which cryotherapy helps muscles recover and reduces inflammation, allowing the joint to move freely, and without pain.
Indeed, cryotherapy can also help with the treatment of chronic pain. As mentioned, this is in part due to a decrease in inflammation. Cryotherapy also increases the production of antioxidants and endorphins, which in turn help the body to heal and reduce pain[15].
Studies show that in conjunction with improvements in mobility, regular and consistent cryotherapy sessions can help to manage chronic pain, with results lasting for up to 3 months[16][17][18][19]. As with many of these studies it should be noted that results vary based on age, gender, and the specific disease or area that is targeted.
I have already referenced inflammation a few times. Cryotherapy offers some major benefits here. Inflammation is our bodies natural response that helps us to heal, an absolute necessity in small doses as and when required. However, many of us in the modern world suffer from chronic inflammation, a silent killer, and at the heart of almost all major diseases.
Cryotherapy can help reset our inflammatory response, and reduce existing inflammation. Studies have shown that cryotherapy increases the presence of anti-inflammatory cytokines, as well as reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines[20][21].
Exercise also causes temporary inflammation, and reductions in inflammation also link to the aforementioned recovery benefits of cryotherapy. Potentially this is due to the reduction in tissue and core temperature reducing blood flow to areas of inflammation[22].
Along with inflammation, oxidative stress is a major factor in the wear and tear, and ageing of our bodies. Oxidative stress relates to the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in our bodies, which ultimately leads to tissue damage. It is a natural process, but we can gain some control over it and slow down the ageing process.
Cryotherapy can help with this. Studies have shown that it can increase the presence of antioxidants, which helps to decrease oxidative stress. This was mirrored in a reduction of the key markers of oxidative stress[23]. When coupled with exercise, cryotherapy can also amplify an increase in antioxidant levels, when compared to exercise alone[24].
I already wrote about natural methods of boosting the immune system, and I did touch on sauna usage. However, I did not talk about the benefits of cryotherapy. A reduction in inflammation and oxidative stress certainly plays a role in optimising your body to fight disease.
However, cryotherapy also offers further specific benefits for the immune system. One study showed that regular cryotherapy sessions increases the production of white blood cells, especially lymphocytes and monocytes[25]. Coupled with the aforementioned benefits, this helps your body to fight of disease.
Moving from the body as a whole, to the heart. Plunging your body into very cold temperatures will decrease your resting heart rate, whilst improving stroke volume[26], and improving heart rate variability[27]. Furthermore, cryotherapy activates the mechanism that regulates your blood pressure helping to balance and optimise your blood pressure.
Some of these impacts are a result of the activation of the autonomic nervous system. You can think of cryotherapy as a training session for your autonomic nervous system. Temporarily yielding the above results, which helps to keep your heart and nervous system nimble, and ready to react to unexpected extremes in day to day life[28].
Moving to the the mind, cryotherapy has also been shown to help reduce anxiety and depression! In large part this may well be down to a a point I previously referenced. Cryotherapy increases the production of endorphins, chemicals that help create positive, happy mental states.
Multiple studies have demonstrated that cryotherapy has helped individuals suffering with depression. After multiple sessions of cryotherapy, participants recorded lover overall scores across an overwhelmingly large proportion of the questions on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) [29], as well as reporting overall increases in perceived levels of well-being and life satisfaction[30].
Finally, I’ll close the loop with a benefit that links body and mind. Cryotherapy can help improve the quality of our sleep. In turn this assists with multiple benefits listed above. Getting the high quality and quantity of sleep helps the body to heal and recover, it optimises our cognitive function, and helps keep our mental states balanced.
Studies support the use of whole body cryotherapy in helping to get a better night’s sleep, particularly after exercise[31]. This may well be due to the fact that, as previously mentioned cryotherapy helps activate the autonomous nervous system, offers pain relief and aids with recovery in active individuals. So, when it’s time to sleep the body is better prepared to enter restful sleep with less chance of disturbances from pain and fatigue[32].
I mentioned at the beginning that this was a follow up to my write up on the benefits of sauna usage. You may also be aware that traditionally, sauna usage in Scandinavia is often followed by cold exposure. It is worth noting that the practice of combining both hot and cold can magnify the benefits offered by both treatments in isolation.
Although delivered from different temperature extremes there are many commonalities, and a dose of cold therapy following a sauna may well help to amplify effects such as; improved blood flow, reduced pain, increased mobility, reduced inflammation, a boost to the immune system, and overall feelings of mental freshness and wellbeing.
As always, I’ll end by saying that I do not believe cryotherapy is a magic bullet that is going to heal all your ills and make you live for an extra hundred years. Of course, you should still pay attention to your physician, and make sure you cryotherapy will not have any adverse effects on you, or conflict with any existing conditions or medications you may be on.
However, it is another string to your bow. I’m a big believer that by educating yourself on the myriad of techniques based on ancestral wisdom, and utilising modern science to sense check the potential benefits, you can build up a matrix of simple, time and cost effective measures, that as a collective whole can do absolute wonders for your health, wellbeing and longevity. 3 to 4 sauna and plunge pool sessions a week is definitely a big part of my mix!
Evidence Backed Benefits of Cryotherapy
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