Cryo Tech Terry Tries Cryotherapy!
Cryogenic Therapy, or Cryotherapy, is a term that was pretty much unknown to me a few months ago. For those who don’t know, I will give you the condensed version. A Cryogenic Sauna is a booth you stand in as liquid Nitrogen (supercooled into a gas) is pumped in. It brings the temperature down to -180 degrees Fahrenheit at its coldest setting! The treatment can last 1 to 3 minutes. Subjecting your body to this has many positive effects such as reducing migraines, soothing nerve irritation, improving mood and arthritis symptoms, relieves sore muscles and joints, reduces inflammation. It can even help the body recover from workouts or high impact sports (think of the old “ice baths” you saw in movies after the big game). I am here to share with you my first experience trying it out.
In the last few months, my life has changed, and I have started a new job as a Manager/Cryotherapy Tech/Wellness Ambassador at a new to Oswego, NY spa called Aqua Spa Float Center & Wellness Boutique. Our space is currently under construction and our team has been diligently studying to open as soon as we can (post-COVID).
Anyone who knows me says I have always been in decent shape physically. I came from the service industry taking 10,000 to 15,000 steps in a shift was the norm but then… Coronavirus. I went from multiple trips to a table to check on guests to a few steps to my fridge to see if somehow the ice cream in the freezer had miraculously changed flavors from ten minutes ago when I was last there. Realizing my “winter weight” was going to end up my “beach bod”, I reached out to longtime friends, Scott and Sarah Grants, owners of Stability Fitness in Oswego.
The last several weeks we’ve done high impact interval training (or torture as I so fondly named it.) At 43, my body is not what it once was, but I honestly had no idea it was so bad. Fast forward to this week and I began building excitement knowing I was going to be able to try Cryotherapy! Aqua Spa owners Terry LeRoi, and Tammy Wilkinson wanted all employees to try the different services before opening. So, they scheduled a “field trip” to try Cryo. I want to give a HUGE thank you to Dylan and Ontario Cryo in Watertown for coming in on his day off and opening the center just for us to experience this.
I spent the last couple weeks really paying attention to my body and what my problem areas were. My left knee was sore from a hyper-extension, my right shoulder was tender after our torture (um workouts) and it radiates down my arm to my hand, and finally, my lower back has been a mess for a while from standing, bending over, and lifting things at work.
Two days prior to this I drove to visit family and after a 5 hour drive each way, I had quite the knot in my middle back. That was all on top of my generally sore muscles from the workouts since I have not used many of these muscles in a while. I had informed Scott I was going to try Cryotherapy, and I really wanted to put it to the test. So, I scheduled a workout before we left on our road trip. I am pretty sure that I heard Scott say “Hahaha I’m gonna hurt you”… He did.
At Ontario Cryo, I don’t really remember my expectations. But, as I stepped into the pre-cooled chamber with my robe, booties and gloves on, I was excited. I handed Dylan my robe and he closed the lid. I started slowly turning around in the sauna as the gas rushed in. “Okay…. not so bad,” I thought. I am usually always hot, so it was nice.
Then I heard Dylan say, “We are coming up on -100 degrees at 30 seconds in.” It was at that point I realized this was no joke—I still had 2 and a half minutes and 80 degrees to go. It was cold… I can’t even pretend it wasn’t but not in a bad way I mean come on—I live in Oswego, -100 is February. I just kept spinning around and paying attention to my body. And then suddenly, the cold was gone. Now don’t get me wrong, I was shivering, and I knew it was cold, but I think I just went numb.
Two minutes in, I found my zone, I was still cold, but I was doing great. “One minute to go,” Dylan called out. And then, the magic started happening. All of a sudden, the cold was gone. Then, all those problem areas I mentioned earlier (my knee, may back, my shoulder) started to burn. Now when I say burn, I don’t mean in a painful way. But that’s the only way to explain it, my trouble areas seemed to be radiating heat. Dylan counted me down to zero and handed me my robe and I walked out of the cryo chamber and back to the changing room.
Now, going from -180 degrees back to room temperature makes getting dressed a little difficult but by the time I was dressed completely, new sensations were setting in. My entire body was tingling from the massive amount of blood flow and the endorphins kicking in! As I walked out of the changing room, I began noticing the INSANE amount of energy I felt—I could run a marathon. I was concentrating on my pain and, guess what! My pain was gone! My knee bent without issue, my shoulder was 100% and my back was loose and relaxed. Honestly, I can say this was the first time in a long time I had full range of motion everywhere in my body. I felt like I did when I was 20, like I was unstoppable, like I was healthy! There were still a few cold spots on my body a little while after the session but not painful spots at all!
Now I have read that Cryo helps with sleep and I can vouch that it does! I am usually a night owl but after Cryotherapy, I was so relaxed I actually went to bed early for once! I did my normal Facebooking and read an article, but I was so comfy I just wanted to sleep—and I did! My sleep was great—I slept deep all night and even slept in a bit. When I woke up, I was ready for another test… getting my sore body out of bed! I sat up, swung over and rose out of bed without a creak, crack, or moan. It was amazing. I went out and mowed my lawn and chopped down a ton of brush. This normally puts me down for the count, but I still felt amazing!
All things considered; I have to say I am definitely a believer in Cryotherapy after this experience. As an eternal skeptic, I try to hold my judgments until I see it firsthand. I can tell you that I am skeptic no more I just can’t wait to try it again.
I hope that if you ever want to try Cryotherapy that you come visit me at Aqua Spa. I’m excited to share this amazing experience so you too can enjoy all the benefits and feel just as good as I do!
