whole body cryotherapy p1.doc

8/14/2019 WHOLE BODY CRYOTHERAPY P1.doc

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WHOLE BODY CRYOTHERAPY (WBC) : PART 1

A Review by Dr L Hennessy (2013)

This short review will present a brief history of WBC and PBC and also review the growing

number of studies that have been conducted in examining the purported benefits of using one

form or the other of cryotherapy exposure.

Our focus, as normal, is not on general health and wellbeing but rather on sport performance

and in particular on the potential benefits of both WBC and PBC to aid the athlete!s

adaptation to training and recovery between training"competition bouts.

Fi!re 1" A W#$%e B$&y Cry$'#ery *#+ber $r s!n !sin %i&!i& ni'r$en '$ re*#

e,'re+e *$%& 'e+er'!res (*$!r'esy -r.e$r. -/r 4A)"

W#' is W#$%e B$&y $r Pr'i% B$&y Cry$'#ery5

Whole body cryotherapy is where the body is completely exposed to extreme cold for a short

duration. Temperatures of between ##$Oto #%$O Celsius &C' are used in an attempt to

repair, recuperate and reinvigorate the systems of the body that have been stressed during

intense, in our context, exercise &Papenfus ($$)'. *n exposure period typically can vary from

# to + minutes. ach exposure occurs in a chamber or sauna type compartment called a
http://www.thestrengthandconditioningblog.com/2013/07/whole-body-cryotherapy-wbc-part-1.htmlhttp://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHtx2MhDtaI/UegMX4UYjuI/AAAAAAAAA3U/BB55rN4iJB0/s1600/1.pnghttp://www.thestrengthandconditioningblog.com/2013/07/whole-body-cryotherapy-wbc-part-1.html


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-cryosauna! or a -cryochamber! &see igure # above'. Partial body cryotherapy exposure is

where the head is not exposed to the direct cold using standup cabins &igure ( below'.

Fi!re 2" Pr'i% b$&y *ry$'#ery (*$!r'esy www"si'e67!si$n"*$"!)"

B*r$!n&

There has been much interest in recent years regarding WBC. or example, in one leading

/rish 0unday newspaper claims were made regarding WBC stating that it was -a miracle cure!

&/reland on 0unday *ugust #+th($$)'. rom the outset we can confidently state that there are

no miracle cures except through divine intervention1

urther, there has also been confusion between WBC and cold water baths and contrast cold

water and warm water treatments. 2egarding the latter &contrast of cold and warm baths'
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most team sport players at one stage or another have had cold baths and"or contrast baths

following training or competing. Temperatures of about #( degrees C are typical in cold

water immersion recovery strategies. *nd when contrast techni3ues are used temperatures of

warmer water typically range between () and +) degrees C. While there are conflicting views

in terms of the benefits when using cold water and or contrast baths, there is a reasonable

body of research pointing to beneficial effects in terms of reducing what is 4nown as the

delayed onset of muscle soreness &5O60' and for contrast bathing, in restoring and

maintaining better strength compared to passive recovery especially in elite sport following

intense and muscle damaging exercise &Blea4ley et al ($#(, Bieu7en et al ($#+'. urther cold

water immersion seems to be the gold standard method for the treatment of exertional

heatstro4e &Casa et al ($$8'.

WBC on the other hand, it should be stressed, is nothing li4e the experience of applying cold

or ice local to an in9ured body part or even ta4ing a cold plunge into cold water. WBC

involves exposure to temperatures below minus ##$oC and colder. /t is a totally different

experience to ta4ing a couple of minutes in a cold bath &which as you now 4now reaches

somewhere between :) and :#; degrees C depending on whether ice is used or not'.

His'$ry

0o let us start from the beginning and provide a brief history and bac4ground to this very

interesting modern ad9unct to sport training and performance. /n #apan &=amauchi #


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The first cryotherapy chamber in the form of a PBC unit arrived to /reland in ($$+ and this

was the first chamber in the ?@ and /reland. 0ince then several WBC and PBC units or

saunas are now present throughout /reland and the ?@.

/n addition since the arrival of the first WBC in the ?0*, in ($$

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