Cryotherapy Benefits for Recovery & Performance?

What is Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is a procedure used to treat various health conditions. It involves the use of freezing cold temperatures to destroy abnormal tissues. Liquid nitrogen or a gas like argon is used to create this freezing effect. Cryotherapy is used to treat various types of cancers, as well as skin conditions like dark spots, warts, etc. It is also used to improve general health of patients.

Benefits of Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy has many benefits to offer. They include:

• It helps to treat conditions that cause inflammation. Arthritis and fibromyalgia can be very painful. Cryotherapy helps to heal inflammation.
• In the case of arthritis and fibromyalgia, it helps to provide relief from pain. Apart from providing immediate relief, it helps in long-term pain management.
• A condition like psoriasis leads to overgrowth of skin cells. This is slowed down thanks to cryotherapy leading to improvement in skin health.
• Cryotherapy, when done after surgery can help in improved recovery.
• It provides other benefits like improved immunity and better sleep.

How does Cryotherapy help recovery & performance?

Sportspersons and athletes face common problems like injuries and increased time for recovery. Cryotherapy can be very helpful in ensuring better recovery and improved performance. A session of whole body cryotherapy can help in improved recovery. It also has performance benefits and can help athletes attain their optimum performance levels.

The following explains how cryotherapy helps in improved recovery and performance:

• One of the common problems is injuries and strains in muscles and joints. These injuries need to be treated immediately for better performance. Cryotherapy helps to increase healing. When the body is exposed to cold air, it helps to purify the blood and moves oxygen to the soft tissues in the areas with injuries. This helps in healing. The process of repair or the muscles and tissues is accelerated by the use of cryotherapy. The stimulation of the lymphatic system helps in ensuring this.
• Treating inflammation is important and need to ensure effective recovery. Damaged cells can cause inflammation and this increases pain and prevents smooth recovery. Cryotherapy helps to stimulate blood circulation. This helps to increase oxygen supply to the soft tissues allowing them to be healed by reducing inflammation.
• An athlete who undergoes cryotherapy after an intense workout can help recover quickly. Sore muscles can be healed after a session of cryotherapy. The overall recovery time is improved when cryotherapy is used. It reduces the risk of damage to the muscles. Athletes can resume their workouts faster thanks to the quicker healing.
• Improved flexibility is another benefit that helps to aid improved performance levels. It has been shown that a session of cryotherapy can help in improving flexibility thanks to its effects on the muscles. Hamstring flexibility has been shown to improve after a session of cryotherapy. Muscles that are overworked can be relaxed after cold treatment. This is what helps in improving flexibility.
• Apart from treating injuries, injury prevention is another benefit of cryotherapy. New injuries can be prevented and this can help in improving performance. 

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