Transcription:
Decrease Inflammation, Reduce Muscle Pain and Accelerate Recovery with Cryotherapy

Melanie Cole (Host):  Have you looked for something that promotes healing and other therapeutic results?  You might want to consider cryotherapy. My guest today is Lorri Benamor. She’s a manager with Bryan LifePointe. Welcome to the show, Laurie. What is cryotherapy?

Lorri Benamor(Guest): Cryotherapy is a quick, three-minute treatment in which the body is exposed briefly to very cold temperatures. People used cryotherapy treatments in order to promote healing and have other therapeutic results. The treatment is a real easy treatment. We have a chamber that fills with nitrogen gas. The temperature will cool down to below zero – about 180 degrees below to 200 degrees below zero. The person stands inside the chamber and their head is exposed so they’re able to breathe and talk and have communication with the assistant that is on the outside of the chamber. Once inside the chamber they just kind of circle around to keep an even cool around their body and make sure that they get a full exposure of the nitrogen gas on their skin.

Melanie:  Tell us about the nitrogen gas because that might sound a little scary to people but it’s not, really.

Ms. Benamor:  It’s not. As I say, your head is outside the chamber so only from the shoulders down you’re exposed to the gas. That’s what creates the cooling effect on your skin and makes the treatment work. If you inhale the gas, you could get a little bit lightheaded but, again, we have an assistant right there with you that will help make sure your treatment goes smooth.

Melanie:  This is the same nitrogen that’s in the air we breathe, isn’t it?

Ms. Benamor:  It’s completely safe. The treatment is painless. You do, of course, get a little cold. Treatment sessions can last anywhere from one minute to three minutes. A lot of the people who do treatments say just the last 30 seconds are where they’re kind of thinking, “It’s getting a little cold. It’s getting a little prickly on my skin,” and by that time you’re almost done and you’ve made it.

Melanie:  What are some of the benefits of cryotherapy?

Ms. Benamor:   We really have two groups of people who use cryotherapy. We have the athletic group. Those people will come in during their training. For example, we had someone running the Boston Marathon recently. He would come in after he had run a long run. It really helped in his recovery. It helps the body to start the healing process a little bit faster. We’ve also have athletes who will come in prior to games, for example. Your body goes into a flight or fight response and your hormones really kick in. Your adrenaline kicks in, so they’re able to use that adrenaline rush in a game or an athletic event. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have found it to be really successful with people with arthritis or fibromyalgia. So, those people will come in maybe a little bit more often than the athletic type people because they’re using it more for therapeutic reasons. Again, we’ve seen great successes with people with arthritis and fibromyalgia.

Melanie:  Tell us about autoimmune and inflammatory disorders as it relates to cryotherapy. How does it help?

Ms. Benamor:  For a lot of the inflammatory disorders, it’s a lot like an ice bath. So, if you have a physician or physical therapist who is recommending that you use ice therapy, cryotherapy can accomplish the very same results. It helps reduce inflammation just like an ice pack does. It has a lot more benefits, however. Of course, the one is the level of comfort. You’re not sitting in a huge bucket of ice. You’re able to step into this treatment, step into the chamber. It’s a three-minute treatment and you’re done. There’s not a lot of the prep work. There’s not a lot of the pain of sitting in an ice bath. It also helps to improve your circulation system and your immune system which ice baths don’t do or have the same result.

Melanie:  Tell us about what if somebody has claustrophobia?

Ms. Benamor: We have had people who have claustrophobia and they’re just fine. Again, because your head is sticking outside of the chamber, you don’t feel as enclosed. From your neck down, of course, is enclosed but from the head up, you’re out. You’re able to see and have conversations. We haven’t had any real struggles with people who have claustrophobia.

Melanie:  What should patients wear that are trying cryotherapy?

Ms. Benamor:  You’ll get the best effects if more of your skin is exposed. We will provide all of our clients who come for cryotherapy with a robe, shoes, socks and a pair of gloves. Men we request that you do leave on boxers or shorts. Women, however, if you feel comfortable enough to go in completely unclothed, you’ll probably see the best results from your treatment. All of that equipment is provided for people when they come to LifePointe.

Melanie:  Tell us about some of the successes LifePointe has had with your clients.

Ms. Benamor:  Cryotherapy isn’t just good for the arthritis and fibromyalgia or the athletes. We have a lot of people who have come to try it for depression. Again, because of that endorphin, it’s kind of like they talk about a runner’s high. We’re seeing people almost with a cryotherapy high. You almost get addicted to the feeling and the way you feel because you are reenergized. People report that they sleep well at night. People are sleeping better. It’s just an overall better well-being of health. The people who we’ve seen come back and repeat, a lot of them are doing it for that feel good feeling. We have others – you burn 500 calories when you’re in a treatment – 500-800 calories because your body is trying to rewarm itself. So, we have some who are trying to do it for improvement of skin appearance, for weight loss because it does build up and burn those calories while you’re inside the treatment.

Melanie:  It can actually accelerate your metabolism to help with weight management?

Ms. Benamor:  It can.

Melanie:  What about other people that come for beauty and spa, like skin aging or collagen production?  Can it help with those?

Ms. Benamor: It can. The way the treatment works is when your body cools to that low of a temperature, the blood rushes to your heart and lungs so while it’s there it gets re-oxygenated, re-nourished and when it comes back out to your organs and your limbs and everything, it kind of flushes out the toxins that are there. That new re-nourished blood, re-nourished and oxygenated blood, can then help rebuild the collagen that’s in your skin. We’ve had people who have been watching aged spots on their skin and they’re seeing those fade and diminish as they go on with their treatment.

Melanie:  That is so cool. What about the immune system, Lorri?  Can it help to boost the immune system and circulation?

Ms. Benamor:  We are told that it does. Again, it’s all just in the science and the way it works because when that blood rushes back out to its’ extremities, it’s going to get rid of the toxins and it’s going to get that circulation moving again. We’ve had some people talk about their hands are always cold and they always feel cold. After treatment, you would think that you would stay cold but your body really warms up pretty quickly and they feel that their circulation system is improved just in doing the treatment.

Melanie: What else would you like people to know when they’re considering cryotherapy for fatigue or skin issues or arthritis or any of these things we’ve been discussing?

Ms. Benamor:  I think the important thing is, it sounds a little intimidating at first. We say it’s a three-minute treatment but, by any means, you don’t have to stay in for the full three minutes. If it is too cold for someone, they’re able to get out at any point that they feel they need to. We also charge an introductory price, so it gives people the ability to try it without spending a lot of money. You could make sure that it works for you and that you see results. We do recommend that if you’re looking at it for therapeutic result- those people with arthritis and fibromyalgia- we recommend that you do five treatments as soon as you can get them in and you can actually do treatments four hours apart. Typically, people don’t try to rush them in that fast because that’s a lot of cold in a little amount of time, so we have seen people spread them out across five to seven days but you try to get that series of five treatments in. That really kind of blasts that inflammation and that pain and helps it get kind of calmed down. Then, you can come back two to three months later. Also, so people can experience that full set of five, we have introductory pricing on a five pack. So, you can come and try it one time to make sure you can get through it and that you’re going to be okay and you realize that it’s fun and you actually like it. Then, that pricing on the five pack, so you can come back and really use it to treat something that you’re looking to get remedied.

Melanie:  If you’re trying to heal an injury, for example, or even maybe a burn victim-somebody like- that how often would you think that they would have to come?

Ms. Benamor:  I think I would recommend the set of five treatments right away for someone with an injury.

Melanie:  That is absolutely fascinating. Please give your best advice in the last few minutes here, for people that are considering cryotherapy, who may not be quite sure what it is and why they should come to Bryan LifePointe for their care.

Ms. Benamor:  On our website, we have information about the treatments. They are welcome to come out and observe a treatment. We have lots of our clients who are such firm believers in the treatment that they love it when people will stop by and watch a treatment actually in progress. Then, speak to some of those people who have actually had treatments themselves. They’re happy to give testimonials. They want other people to try it. We do have some testimonials on our website or at least a video of one of our clients who likes to do cryotherapy. So, there’s information there and they can give us a call out here at Bryan LifePointe. We’re happy to visit with anybody and walk them through the treatment.

Melanie:  Thank you so much, Lorri. It’s fascinating information. Thank you so much for being with us today. You’re listening to Bryan Health Radio. For more information you can go to bryanlifepointe.com. That’s bryanlifepointe.com. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.