What to Expect for Your Session

Absolutely! All of our staff are trained professionals and know all of the proper procedures to ensure you do not hurt yourself. Cryotherapy is only reducing the surface temperature of your skin without reducing your overall core body temperature. This means you receive all of the benefits of the extreme cold without any of the risk.

Whole Body Cryotherapy is used to help relieve chronic pain, decrease inflammation, speed recovery time, increase athletic performance, and reduce delayed onset muscle soreness. Whole Body Cryotherapy treatments is crucial at increasing your overall health and wellness. The skin’s exposure to extreme cold causes the body to increase its metabolic rate, burning between 500 to 800 calories. Some additional benefits include: pain relief from chronic medical conditions, increased circulation throughout your body, treatment of mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Elevated provides every client with a robe, socks, slippers, and gloves that are used to protect your extremities during the session. We also provide a fresh pair of boxer briefs for men to avoid any lingering moisture that may be present. Women can wear tops but must make sure that there is no metal wiring or lingering moisture. All clients must also remove all jewelry and exterior metal/body piercings below the neck. Lastly, please make sure that you do not apply any oils, lotions, or cologne directly to the skin within 2 hours prior to your service. 

Cryotherapy is very well tolerated and has minimal risks. Systolic blood pressure during the procedure can increase by 10 points but will reverse after the procedure as peripheral circulation returns to normal. Allergic reactions to extreme cold (chilblain), claustrophobia, anxiety are rare. Activation of some viral conditions (cold sores, etc.) due to stimulation of the immune system can occur.  Protective clothing (socks, gloves, undergarments) must be dry in order to avoid frostbite.

Whole-body cryotherapy uses a gaseous form of nitrogen to lower skin surface temperature by 30-50 degrees during a two-three minute session. The exposed skin reacts to the extreme temperatures by sending messages to the brain that stimulate natural regulatory functions of the body. In addition, the skin’s exposure to these subzero temperatures trigger the release of anti-inflammatory molecules, endorphins, toxins, and increases oxygen circulation within the bloodstream.

If it is your first time, we recommend that you start off at a temperature of –200°F. You can then safely increase it to a maximum of –256°F once your body becomes accustomed to these extreme temperatures.

The following conditions are contraindications to whole-body cryotherapy: pregnancy, severe hypertension (BP> 180/100), acute or recent myocardial infarction, unstable angina pectoris, arrhythmia, symptomatic cardiovascular disease, cardiac pacemaker, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, venous thrombosis, acute or recent cerebrovascular accident, uncontrolled seizures, severe Raynaud’s Syndrome, fever, tumor disease, symptomatic lung disorders, bleeding disorders, severe anemia, infection, cold-allergy, acute kidney and urinary tract diseases. Children under 18 must have parental consent and have a parent present during treatment.

Whole-body cryotherapy treatments result in a very different response from the body compared to traditional ice baths. Two to three minutes in the Elevated cryotherapy chamber with dry nitrogen vapor, is equivalent to 20-30 minutes in an ice bath without the uncomfortable feeling of submerging in ice cold water. The nitrogen vapor chills the top skin layers and cold receptors lowering the outer body’s temp 30-50 degrees. This causes the brain to restrict blood flow to your extremities, which is the bodies natural fight-or-flight response to extreme cold. The body reacts to the whole-body cryotherapy treatment by releasing anti-inflammatory proteins and endorphins resulting in super-charged blood. Ice baths do no supercharge the blood like Cryotherapy.

No, nitrogen is a friendly, non-toxic gas. Nitrogen comprises 78% of the air that we breathe. Nitrogen is as common and safe as oxygen.

Yes.  Cryotherapy involves dry, hyper-cooled air flowing over the skin surface, so the process never freezes skin tissues, muscles or organs. The result is only a “feeling” of being cold. The body is being tricked into believing that this extreme cold is life threatening. Cryotherapy is a dry cold with no moisture and tolerable even to those who consider themselves cold intolerant.

Since the cold from whole-body cryotherapy only penetrates the surface of the skin, you will experience a chill to the outer surface of your body. Your vital organs, muscles and tissues will all remain at their normal body temperature. Cryotherapy improves circulation throughout the body and stimulates production of brown fat, so your future ability to tolerate cold should improve.

Whole-body cryotherapy stimulates the body to release endorphins, the hormones that make us feel alert and energetic. The energized effects from each session typically last six to eight hours post treatment. The more treatments you do in close succession, the longer the endorphin high lasts. Many clients also report improvements in their sleep quality after cryotherapy. Muscle aches and stiff joints also feel a sense of relief.

Depending upon the condition being treated, it should initially take five to ten treatments in close succession (every other day) for the first 2 weeks. After this initial loading period, maintenance treatments should be at least once per week.

Whole-body cryotherapy is ideal for athletes seeking muscle recovery, people with chronic pain and inflammatory conditions, and those seeking weight loss and skin rejuvenation. Cryotherapy is used post-surgically to accelerate the healing process and reduce pain without the side effects of pain medications and anti-inflammatory drugs.