In our May blog, we discussed differences between the two types of Cryo; whole body walk-in refrigeration (only offered by US Cryotherapy), and partial body (liquid nitrogen saunas) offered in many places around the country. It’s time to educate on the differences! Here are the two most common questions we get daily:
1) The Sauna’s are promoted (between -220F to -300F+) That has to be more effective because they are colder than US Cryotherapy walk-in rooms of -150F to -190F, right?
2) There are so many sauna centers around the country – this must be the most effective, right?
Our responses:
1) Temperatures promoted by Cryo sauna operators are “marketing” and misleading. The saunas use gasiform cooling blowing from the bottom up – which disperses quickly and must be ventilated mid-torso to avoid inhalation. Actual temperatures inside these tanks (as concluded in a study released in 2017 in the Journal of Thermal Biology by Romain Bouzigon): The authors reported temperatures of approximately −13 °F with a participant inside the cabin and −58 °F in the center of the cabin without a participant inside. These indicate a difference in the temperature of treatment exposure produced by the PBC device (listed from −220 °F to −319 °F) and the actual treatment temperature. -13F treatment exposure – REALLY? The temperatures cited is of nitrogen at its release point, not that of the treatment temperature. Consumers should demand skin temperature measurements after treatment in the shoulder/triceps for skin temperature reduction validation! A US Cryotherapy whole body walk-in system is (head to toe), always cold – not cooled from the bottom up during treatment — and is a constant temperature measurement, and we always measure near the Core. So, I guess that ends that debate – maybe colder is better!
2) There are likely many sauna centers around the country because the equipment is a cheap knock-off version of the systems whole body cryotherapy should be done in. Many people want to open businesses because they see an emerging trend; it doesn’t make them experts – there are many sub-par clinically equipped operators creating novelty experiences, unfortunately with mounting reports of injuries and claims against these nitrogen systems particularly with forced air burns. US Cryotherapy has grown slowly and organically the right way, with the most advanced services model, customer management and tracking systems, safety and employee training in physiology and customer service. Compare the models yourself – I’m 100% confident you will know the difference after doing so.
