Cryotherapy: A Beneficial Adjustment
INNOVATION
Keith Scheinberg
Chiropractors everywhere have been easing pain and solving issues for clients for over 100 years. That is a lot of time to harvest information and grow in knowledge regarding the best practices and equipment. Over the past few years, a newer technology has surfaced in the community that has caught the eye of many industries, but it is really gaining traction with chiropractors. That tech is cryotherapy.
If you follow the chiropractic industry, then you probably have heard the buzzwords, but what is cryotherapy really? Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “the therapeutic use of cold.” However, this definition is a little vague in this context. A more precise definition would be exposure to extremely cold, dry air reaching temperatures lower than -220° F (-104° C) in either single or repeated sessions in a specialized “cryo chamber” for up to three minutes per exposure.
The practical implementation for cryotherapy has been used for hundreds of years. However, the type of cryotherapy that is becoming popularized originated in Japan in 1978. What nobly began as a treatment for arthritis has very recently been embraced by professional sports teams, celebrities, and the health-conscious market as a whole. There are many forms of cryotherapy, but the variant garnering all of the attention is called “wholebody cryotherapy” (WBC). The most popular version of WBC is conducted with a cryosauna. A cryosauna is a walk-in chamber, usually for a single occupant. Using nontoxic nitrogen gas at extremely cold temperatures, the cryosauna envelopes the body in that frosty mist to significantly lower skin temperature. During cryotherapy, the environment within a chamber can drop to frigid temperatures below -220° F (-104° C) cooling the occupant’s skin surface rapidly to as low as 39° F (4° C).
Cryotherapy has attracted the attention of the healthcare community with some very interesting claims. Boosting muscle recovery, increasing metabolism, reducing cellulite, and burning calories up to 48 hours after a session are all benefits that cryotherapy brings to the table. Athletes have been one of the first groups to adopt it into their lifestyle. With assertions that its use can decrease inflammation, redirect blood flow to vital organs, and boost the body’s immune system and metabolism, it is no coincidence that cryotherapy has amassed quite a following.
Like a domino effect, cryotherapy has now caught the eye of the chiropractic industry. With the kind of benefits that it produces, chiropractors are finding ways that cryotherapy can be implemented into their business. One of the beneficial qualities for chiropractors is the decrease in muscle tension, which translates to more effective adjustments after just a single session. Treating acute musculoskeletal injuries is one of the most used passive adjunct therapies among chiropractic practitioners. Those practitioners who have cryotherapy equipment benefit from the effects that cryotherapy has on the body.
Cryotherapy is not only advantageous to chiropractors for its health benefits, but also for its economics. Administering a session is inexpensive in both time and money. Typically, it only costs $3 to $5 per session, and sessions can last anywhere from one to three minutes. This makes it a perfect add-on to any services that are usually offered. With minimal cost to the business and a high profit margin, cryotherapy can be an economically smart addition to any practice. Even though a cryotherapy session must be administered by a trained operator, it doesn’t have to be the doctor. Any member of staff can be trained to oversee sessions proficiently.
With the chiropractic industry growing larger every day, it was only a matter of time before it found new and inventive techniques to bring to the table. Cryotherapy has the tools and technology to help propel chiropractic practices to the next level. Many chiropractors are looking to add cryotherapy to their repertoire because it just seems like a necessary “adjustment.”
Keith Scheinberg, CEO of Cryo Innovations, has a B.S. in Biology, and was heavily involved in research and development projects for Johnson & Johnson, and the US Military. He also founded a safety software and app development company with expert biowledge of cryogenic safety protocols.
