Various forms of cold therapy, from ice on wounds to cold showers, have been successfully used for ages. And ice baths help athletes after an event. But these temperatures don't fall below freezing, or 32°F, and are usually above this. Recently, tanks providing whole body cryotherapy have been promoted for a wide range of health problems, some serious and progressive. This involves subjecting the body to anywhere from minus 160°F to 250°F, for several minutes. While this extreme exposure, even if for only a minute or so, definitely causes physical reactions, there have been no clinical trials to demonstrate their efficacy for the medical conditions supposedly helped. Furthermore, the tanks are not FDA approved.
Key Takeaways:
- Whole body cryotherapy is being promoted for a wide range of medical conditions.
- The WBC tanks are not FDA approved medical devices.
- The facilities offering WBC rarely have any medical personnel present during the treatments.
- No standard clinical trials have been conducted demonstrating their efficacy, as claimed, for the medical conditions mentioned.
- People considering using the treatment should consult their physicians, rather than the internet, as to the benefits, prior to spending the money to expose themselves to these extremes.
"Don't get all your information from celebrity testimony or social media promotions. Things that pass for research on the internet are not what serious investigators would define as quality research." — Therese Markow, Ph.D.
Connect with Therese:
Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net
Twitter: @CritiSpeak
Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net
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