Cryotherapy: types, techniques, indications and contraindications

14 September

2020

Cold can bring not only illnesses, but also benefits, relief from a number of ailments. Cold techniques are widely used in medicine; there is even a separate branch – cryotherapy. It seems to be of ancient Greek origin, meaning “cold treatment.” The essence of the procedure is the effect of low temperatures on the human body for the purpose of healing, restoration, and maintaining tone.

To achieve the desired result and not harm the body, it is necessary to correctly use the source and cold for a strictly limited time. Cryotherapy at the Alfa Radon sanatorium is carried out by experienced specialists who specialize in this medical field. Therefore, treatment with cold methods is effective and safe.

Areas of application of cryotherapy

1. Surgery: treatment of burns and incised wounds, erysipelas, bedsores and ulcers.
2. Neurology: therapy of migraines, spastic hemiparesis, paraparesis, acute vertebrogenic pain syndrome, multiple sclerosis.
3. Traumatology, orthopedics: therapy of tendons, ligaments, contractures, pathologies of soft and bone tissues, joints.
4. Rheumatology: treatment of arthrosis, rheumatism, arthritis.
5. Cosmetology, dermatology: treatment of skin diseases, scars, pigmentation, etc.

Due to its effectiveness (increasing elasticity and skin tone), cryotherapy remains the most popular procedure in cosmetology.

Types of cold treatment

There are two types of cryotherapy: general and local.

The general procedure is carried out for 3 minutes in a cryochamber, where the surface of the skin is cooled to 0 0C with a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen -100... -140 0C. Thus exposed to temperature stress, the body triggers a “mechanism” to stimulate protective functions and metabolic processes. The skin is not damaged.

Local cryotherapy involves cooling a small area of ​​skin immersed in a gas environment with a temperature of -110... -160 0C. It is recommended to carry out the procedure by warming your hands and feet with woolen mittens and socks to avoid frostbite of the limbs and respiratory organs and using a cotton-gauze bandage.

There are non-hardware and hardware local cryotherapy. When performing non-hardware cryotherapy

synthetic cryopacks or ice are used. These refrigerants have different temperatures: ice - from -10 to -7 0C, cryopacks - up to -20 0C. In this regard, the time for massage or applications with ice cubes and cryopaks is different: 30 and 10-20 minutes, respectively. Cryopacks are applied through a napkin due to their critically low temperature.

Hardware cryotherapy

is carried out using special installations through which a stream of cooling gas or dried cold air is supplied to a certain area of ​​the skin surface. Their temperature (up to -180 0C) is extreme for the body, so the time of such temperature effects is equal to several seconds.

Efficiency for health improvement and weight loss

Indications and contraindications for cryosauna should be studied in advance before going to the nearest beauty salon. The advertisement says that this procedure can solve almost any cosmetic problem and also has a tremendous healing effect. But let's really look at things and figure out where the truth is and where there are speculations and fantasies.

Benefits of cryotherapy

• The emotional background after visiting such procedures rises to the skies, this is an objective fact. The brain gets a real shock, releasing the happiness hormone endorphin into the blood. Therefore, a person feels uplifted, good mood, and a surge of strength.
• Sharp cooling of the skin surface leads to stimulation of smooth muscles. This leads to rejuvenation, smoothing out wrinkles, increasing elasticity, and increasing the production of collagen and elastin. True, the effect is temporary.
• The body's receptors are trained, increasing the body's protective properties. However, you must understand that the immune system remains hardened only if you visit the cryosauna regularly, or harden yourself in between.
• The procedure significantly improves well-being, so many are confident that it also improves physical fitness. There are undoubtedly benefits for athletes: the body is cooled, pain is relieved, muscle stress and excessive overexertion are relieved. However, a cryochamber is definitely not suitable as an alternative to the gym.
• Losing weight in a cryosauna is real. When cooling, the body begins to spend calories to raise the temperature, so fat is burned much faster.

Indications

As for real medical indications, cryosauna can be called a real godsend. She easily copes, in combination with medications or without them, with diseases that previously had to be simply left to chance.

• Chronic depression, fatigue, fatigue, apathy.
• Radiculitis.
• Psoriasis and many dermatitis.
• Acne, acne.
• Arthrosis, arthritis.
• Insomnia or excessive sleepiness (sleep disorders).
• Adenoma and prostatitis in men, infertility in women.
• Obesity.
• Prevention of diseases of the respiratory tract and cardiovascular system.
• Diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
• Normalization of sweat gland dysfunction.
• Absent-mindedness and memory problems.

This procedure is recommended for athletes who are undergoing rehabilitation after injuries or with a long break between classes.

Contraindications

Like any other health-improving device, overusing a cryosauna is a thankless task. If you simply overdo it, that is, come to sessions very often, and delay the procedure as much as possible, you may exhaust the adrenal glands, which is unacceptable.

• Inflammatory processes inside organs.
• Allergy to cold.
• Exacerbation of chronic forms of diseases.
• Increased body temperature before the procedure.
• Hypertension, heart and cardiovascular diseases.
• Blood diseases.
• Oncological problems in the body or suspicions that they exist.
• Nervous diseases and mental disorders.
• Infectious diseases in the acute stage.
• Tendency to thrombosis and thrombophlebitis.

Side effects and harm

Thus, independently “prescribing” cryoprocedures to yourself can cause more harm to the body than good. Moreover, we may not even be aware of some health problems for the time being.

• Cryosauna has few side effects; they occur infrequently, but you need to be prepared for them.
• Redness of the skin.
• Mild itching.
• Increased appetite.
• Exacerbations of diseases that a person is treating.

To ensure everything goes smoothly, visit your doctor, get all the tests, tests and studies done. Then you can be completely sure that everything will go without a hitch.

Reviews about cryosauna

Maksik Oksana, Saratov:

“I underwent the procedure just for the sake of general health. I heard before that after using it, the tan in the solarium goes on smoother and better. I didn’t notice a big effect in this sense. But I became much more cheerful throughout the day, it was easier to get up in the morning, and my general mood improved. I noticed one more detail - I stopped gaining weight, which in recent months has been stubbornly creeping up, about a kilogram and a half a month, even with regular exercise.”

Alexander Nastasyev, Moscow:

“I have one unpleasant problem that greatly interferes with my life. I have psoriasis, and during exacerbations nothing helps at all. The doctor recommended visiting a cryosauna, for which special thanks to him. It is impossible to completely cure this disease, but the effect is simply amazing. Now I do a course of procedures regularly four times a year, after which I feel great.”

Galina Semanina, St. Petersburg:

“I have been suffering from rheumatism for a very long time, I constantly have headaches, the sensations are simply terrible. I take painkillers a lot and often. One day, my daughter living in Germany recommended that I go to her doctor, who prescribed a cryochamber. At first I was very afraid, but after the first visit I felt like I was born again. The terrible pain went away, only a nagging sensation remained, and I completely forgot about my head. Upon arrival home, I found similar procedures that I attend regularly, they help a lot and I like them.”

Hardware air cryotherapy (VAC) at GUTA CLINIC

VCT in our clinic is performed using the CryoJet S600 unit (Germany), which supplies any part of the body with an adjustable air stream, dried and cooled to a temperature of –60… –30 0C.

The use of CryoJet S600, a cryotherapeutic system of the latest generation, in local VCT provides the following therapeutic effects:

• inflammation is relieved;
• spasms and pain are eliminated;
• muscle tone is regulated;
• metabolism is activated;
• microcirculation is restored;
• cellular and humoral immunity is activated.

Indications

The influence of low temperatures stimulates the functioning of the circulatory system, which heals and rejuvenates the entire body. The benefits of the procedures will be felt for a long time. Cryotherapy is aimed at restoring strength and improving well-being.

The indications are:

• cleansing the skin of defects;
• getting rid of acne;
• removal of warts, papillomas;
• general rejuvenation;
• treatment and prevention of baldness;
• rehabilitation after operations and injuries;
• treatment of inflammation of joints and bones;
• removal of edema;
• assistance in the treatment of the reproductive and respiratory systems;
• application in plastic surgery.

Low temperatures help in the fight against excess weight. Diets also work effectively, while the skin remains tightened and smooth.

Advantages of hardware VKT

Carrying out VCT has undeniable advantages over other methods of cryotherapy:

1. Environmental friendliness (ordinary atmospheric air acts as a cooling medium).
2. Safety (short-term exposure to cold eliminates the threat of frostbite and complications).
3. Versatility (wide range of therapeutic applications: rheumatology, neurology, orthopedics, surgery, dermatology, cosmetology, sports medicine).
4. There is no need for preliminary preparation for the procedure and subsequent rehabilitation.

Expected Result

Cryotherapy has many advantages - it is painless, can rejuvenate the skin, remove blemishes, fight cellulite, and helps lose weight. This occurs due to the activation of internal metabolic processes, and not drugs. Cold treatments are highly effective and show results from the first sessions.

It is important to choose a clinic where competent specialists will help the body, with the help of cold, learn to adapt to unfavorable conditions and stress. Cryotherapy must be done in a course for greater effectiveness.

This is an inexpensive way to maintain health. Cryotherapy is a reliable prevention of many diseases. The price depends on the clinic and city; currently such services are provided not only in Moscow, but also in many large cities of Russia.

Contraindications for VCT

• General contraindications to physiotherapy.
• Raynaud's disease.
• Obliterating endarteritis.
• Sickle cell anemia.
• Hypersensitivity to cold.

Research into the effects of low-temperature cold on the body will always continue, so don’t wait for scientists to make a grand discovery on this topic and offer a new method of cold treatment. If you have no contraindications to cryotherapy, nothing prevents you from using this procedure now and making sure of its effectiveness.

Preparation for the procedure

Preparation for cryotherapy begins with a visit to a therapist, who will issue a referral for an ECG. Additionally, you need to take a blood and urine test. If, based on the results of the examination, the doctor allows cold treatment, you can safely sign up for the procedure.

Despite the painlessness and absence of discomfort directly during exposure to low temperatures, it is not superfluous to pre-harden the body. For example, a week before the start of therapy, you can take a contrast shower - thanks to this, restorative and protective processes will already be launched in the skin, and the complex will be more effective.

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During general cryotherapy, the patient is placed in a special chamber, so the most sensitive areas of the body - the head, hands and feet - need to be protected from low temperatures. Experts recommend taking a warm hat, mittens and shoes with you to the procedure.

The duration of the procedure is about 5 minutes. To achieve the desired effect, it is recommended to undergo a set of procedures - from 5 to 15 times. The break between sessions is determined by a specialist based on individual indicators. After the procedure itself, the skin does not require special care. There are also no restrictions regarding exposure to ultraviolet radiation or the use of decorative cosmetics.