What is Cryotherapy?

What is Cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy is any deliberate use of cold as a treatment, and in fitness it usually means one of two things: whole-body cryotherapy in a cold chamber, or localized cold applied to a sore or injured area. The word comes from the Greek kryos, meaning cold or frost, and therapeia, meaning healing. Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) is the version marketed at gyms, spas, and recovery studios.

You step into a chamber, usually wearing minimal clothing plus gloves, socks, and a mask to protect the extremities, and the air is dropped to roughly minus 110 to minus 140 degrees Celsius, cooled by refrigerated air or by evaporating liquid nitrogen, for two to three minutes. Localized cryotherapy is far older and far better established: an ice pack on a swollen ankle, a cold gel wrap, or a compressive cryo cuff that circulates chilled water around a knee after surgery.

Sitting between the two is cold water immersion, the ice bath or cold plunge, where you submerge part or all of the body in water around 10 to 15 degrees Celsius. All of these share one goal, to use cold to calm pain and swelling and to help you feel recovered faster after hard training or an injury.

The important thing to understand up front is that the marketing runs well ahead of the evidence. Cold reliably makes a sore area feel better in the short term, but the claim that a three-minute freeze meaningfully speeds tissue repair, burns fat, or boosts long-term performance is weakly supported at best, and for whole-body cryotherapy specifically the research is thin and mixed.

How it works

Cryotherapy works by cooling the skin and the tissue underneath it, which sets off several linked responses. The first is vasoconstriction: cold makes the blood vessels near the surface narrow, which reduces blood flow to the area and limits the fluid and inflammatory cells that would otherwise accumulate as swelling. The second is analgesia, a genuine reduction in pain.

Cold slows the conduction velocity of sensory nerves and raises the pain threshold, which is why an iced joint simply hurts less. The third is a dampening of the inflammatory cascade. Controlled studies of whole-body cryotherapy have measured lower blood concentrations of pro-inflammatory markers such as interleukin-1 beta and C-reactive protein, and reduced reactive oxygen species, in the hours and days after cold exposure.

Cold also lowers local tissue metabolism, so cells in a cooled, injured area consume less oxygen and may sustain less secondary damage, an effect shown clearly in animal models but far less convincingly in humans. Whole-body cryotherapy adds a systemic layer on top of these local effects: the sudden, intense cold stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, spikes noradrenaline, and shifts autonomic balance, which is one proposed reason people report a mood lift and less perceived soreness afterward.

Here is the honest catch. Reducing a soreness signal and reducing inflammatory markers in the blood is not the same as accelerating the actual repair and rebuilding of muscle. Inflammation after training is not purely damage; part of it is the signal that drives adaptation. Cold-water immersion done chronically after resistance training has been shown to blunt gains in muscle size and strength, and while whole-body cryotherapy is less studied for this, the same caution applies. Cryotherapy is best understood as a symptom manager, not a repair accelerator.

How to apply it

• Use it to manage soreness, not to chase gains: Reach for cryotherapy on days when feeling less sore matters more than maximizing adaptation, such as during a competition week or a congested fixture list. Its most reliable effect is short-term pain relief, so use it when that is the goal.
• Keep whole-body exposures short: Whole-body sessions run 2 to 3 minutes at roughly minus 110 to minus 140 C. Longer is not better and raises frostbite risk. Wear the supplied gloves, socks, and mask, keep skin dry, and step out immediately if numbness turns to sharp pain.
• Prefer localized cold for a specific injury: For a rolled ankle or a swollen knee, an ice pack or cryo cuff on that spot for 10 to 20 minutes is cheaper and better supported than a whole-body chamber. Protect the skin with a thin barrier and limit each bout to avoid ice burns.
• Separate cold from your growth-focused sessions: Because cold can blunt the inflammatory signal that drives muscle growth, avoid icing right after the hypertrophy or strength work you most want to adapt to. Push cold to rest days or the tail end of a peak, not immediately after key lifts.
• Treat frequency conservatively: Regular users often do 2 to 3 whole-body sessions per week, but there is no evidence-based optimal dose. More sessions cost more and carry more risk without proven extra benefit, so start low and judge by how you actually feel and perform.
• Screen yourself for contraindications first: Skip whole-body cryotherapy if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart or circulatory disease, cold sensitivity such as Raynaud's or cold urticaria, peripheral neuropathy, or are pregnant. Cold stresses the cardiovascular system, so clear it with a clinician if unsure.

Types

Worked example

Here is how the common cold-recovery options compare on a like-for-like basis, using typical protocols. Loads and doses are examples of what studios and studies actually use, not prescriptions. Notice the cost and evidence columns, because that is where the honest decision usually gets made.

For most lifters chasing recovery on a budget, a cold plunge or a simple ice pack delivers the same reliable effect, pain relief, at a fraction of the price of a whole-body chamber. Whole-body cryotherapy's main draws are convenience, the systemic buzz, and the fact that you stay dry.

Cryotherapy (whole-body) vs ice bath

A meta-analysis comparing the two found cold water immersion produced a greater reduction in delayed soreness at 24 hours, while whole-body cryotherapy showed a small, uncertain edge for jump performance. Because water conducts heat far better than air, the ice bath cools tissue more deeply despite its milder temperature.

By goal

• In-season athletes and busy competitors: Use cold, whichever form is convenient, to take the edge off soreness between events when feeling fresh outweighs squeezing out extra adaptation. Whole-body cryo is attractive here mainly because it is fast and keeps you dry, not because it is proven superior.
• Lifters building muscle and strength: Be cautious. Routinely icing straight after your hardest sessions can blunt the inflammatory signal that drives growth, so keep cold away from your key hypertrophy and strength work and lean on sleep, food, and easy movement instead.
• Injury recovery and pain management: Localized cold has the strongest support. An ice pack or cryo cuff on an acutely swollen or post-surgical joint reliably reduces pain and swelling in the short term. This is cryotherapy's clearest, most defensible use.

Common misconceptions

• "Whole-body cryotherapy is proven to speed up muscle recovery." The evidence is weak and mixed. Studies show whole-body cryotherapy lowers perceived soreness and some inflammatory markers, but reviews find no consistent effect on objective recovery of strength or muscle function, and no whole-body device is FDA-cleared to treat any condition.
• "The colder the temperature, the better the results." A chamber at minus 140 C is not obviously better than a 12 C ice bath. Because water conducts heat far more efficiently than air, an ice bath cools tissue more deeply despite the milder number. Extreme air temperature mostly raises frostbite risk, not benefit.
• "Cryotherapy burns a lot of calories and melts fat." A clinical trial found whole-body cryotherapy did not meaningfully enhance weight loss or activate brown fat during an obesity program. Any calorie cost of a two-minute freeze is trivial, and fat-loss claims from cryo studios are not supported by the data.
• "More cold is always good for a lifter." Inflammation after training is partly the signal that drives adaptation. Regular cold water immersion after resistance training has been shown to blunt gains in muscle size and strength, so blindly icing after every session can work against the reason you train.

Related terms

Cryotherapy FAQ

What is cryotherapy in simple terms?

Cryotherapy is using extreme cold as a treatment to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation. It ranges from a simple ice pack on a sore joint to a whole-body chamber cooled to around minus 110 to minus 140 degrees Celsius for two to three minutes after hard training.

Does whole-body cryotherapy actually work for recovery?

The evidence is weak and mixed. Whole-body cryotherapy can lower perceived soreness and some inflammatory markers, but reviews find no consistent effect on objective recovery of strength or muscle function. It manages how sore you feel more than it speeds actual tissue repair.

Is cryotherapy better than an ice bath?

Not clearly. A meta-analysis found cold water immersion reduced delayed soreness more than whole-body cryotherapy at 24 hours. Water cools tissue more deeply than cold air, so an ice bath often matches or beats a chamber for a fraction of the cost, though cryo keeps you dry.

How cold is a whole-body cryotherapy chamber?

Whole-body cryotherapy chambers typically run between about minus 110 and minus 140 degrees Celsius, cooled by refrigerated air or evaporating liquid nitrogen. Sessions last two to three minutes. You wear gloves, socks, and a mask to protect the extremities from frostbite during exposure.

How often should you do cryotherapy?

There is no evidence-based ideal frequency. Regular users often do two to three whole-body sessions per week, but more sessions mainly cost more and carry more risk without proven extra benefit. Start conservatively and judge by how you actually feel and perform.

Is cryotherapy safe?

Localized ice is very safe when you protect the skin. Whole-body cryotherapy carries real risks, including frostbite, burns, eye injury, and, with liquid nitrogen, oxygen deficiency in the chamber. No whole-body device is FDA-cleared to treat any medical condition.

Who should not do whole-body cryotherapy?

Avoid whole-body cryotherapy if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, heart or circulatory disease, cold sensitivity such as Raynaud's or cold urticaria, peripheral neuropathy, or are pregnant. Cold sharply stresses the cardiovascular system, so clear it with a doctor first if you are unsure.

Does cryotherapy help you lose weight?

The evidence says no. A clinical trial found whole-body cryotherapy did not meaningfully enhance weight loss or activate brown fat during an obesity program. Any calories burned in a two-minute freeze are trivial, so fat-loss claims from cryo studios are not supported by data.

Can cryotherapy hurt muscle growth?

It might if overused. Inflammation after training is partly the signal that drives adaptation, and regular cold water immersion after lifting has been shown to blunt gains in muscle size and strength. Keep cold away from the sessions you most want to grow from.

What is the difference between cryotherapy and an ice pack?

An ice pack is localized cryotherapy applied to one area. Whole-body cryotherapy exposes the entire body to freezing air in a chamber. Localized cold has stronger evidence for acute injury and swelling, while whole-body cryo is systemic, brief, costly, and less well supported.

References

1. Rose C, et al. Whole-body Cryotherapy as a Recovery Technique after Exercise: A Review of the Literature. Int J Sports Med / PMC, 2017. PMC5411446
2. The cold truth: the role of cryotherapy in the treatment of injury and recovery from exercise. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2021. PubMed 33877402
3. Cryostimulation for Post-exercise Recovery in Athletes: A Consensus and Position Paper. Front Sports Act Living, 2021. PMC8652002
4. Rose C, et al. The Effect of Post-Exercise Cryotherapy on Recovery Characteristics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLOS One, 2015. PMC4586380
5. Effects of cold water immersion vs body cryotherapy on delayed onset muscle soreness and jump performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Systematic review, 2026. PMC12851776 / PubMed 41578562
6. Bleakley CM, et al. Could whole-body cryotherapy (below minus 100 C) improve muscle recovery from muscle damage? Front Physiol, 2014. PMC4078193
7. Evaluating safety risks of whole-body cryotherapy/cryostimulation (WBC): a scoping review from an international consortium. Eur J Med Res, 2023. PMC10537204
8. Whole body cryotherapy can be hazardous to your skin. American Academy of Dermatology