Historical Overview
The word "cryotherapy" is of Greek origin: "cryo" = cold, "therapeia" = cure. Cryotherapy is therefore a therapeutic health treatment involving extremely low temperatures (below-130oC/below-266oF).
Modern "whole body cryotherapy" (WBC), also known as "air cryotherapy" (ACT) and "cryotherapy", is rooted in the practice of Dr. Yamaguchi in Japan, who began using short-term cryotherapy on the surface of the skin of rheumatoid arthritis patients in 1978 to manage pain. With these cryosurgery, Dr. Yamaguchi found that he could significantly reduce the soreness and pain that patients usually feel when operating the joints, because a rapid decrease in the temperature of the outer layer of the skin leads to an immediate release of endorphins and therefore a reduced sensitivity to pain.
In the 1980 s, while continuing his research on the effects of whole-body cryotherapy, Dr. Yamaguchi and his colleagues came to the conclusion that rapid short-term freezing of the skin surface to a temperature of-1oC/32oF in a freezing chamber was more beneficial than gradual cooling while immersed in an ice bath. The lowest possible temperature is 5oC/41oF.
As a result of thorough and ongoing research, Dr. Yamaguchi further proposes that whole body cryotherapy (WBC) affects the body on three different levels:
· Biochemical level-circulatory system
· Energy Levels-Energy Meridians
· Information level-nervous system
biochemical level
We start at the biochemical level, which is basically the physical level, which is the easiest to understand from the point of view of modern medicine. Almost all treatments and effects of modern medicine on the human body are at this level.
When in the freezer, the ambient temperature is usually around -170 oC/-274oF, and the human body is quickly exposed to extremely low temperatures, and the skin surface quickly cools to about-1oC/32oF in a short period of time (2.5 to 3 minutes). When the skin surface temperature reaches freezing or even for a moment, the cold sensor in the skin sends a very strong signal to the brain that the life of the organism may be in danger. To protect the body from extremely low temperatures that can cause hypothermia and death, the brain commands all peripheral parts of the body to contract muscles and tissues in order to deliver blood to the core of the body.
Because the temperature of the body's core must be constant, equal to 98.6 oF, because even small changes in this temperature can eventually lead to death. Therefore, after receiving the freezing temperature signal from the skin cold sensor, the brain center has a clear warning that if the blood circulation in the outer layer of the skin is allowed to continue, it is impossible to maintain the necessary core body temperature. As a result, all survival resources are mobilized, and blood is sent to the core of the body and begins to circulate in an "internal circulation" to protect vital organs. One immediate effect is an increase in arterial blood pressure of about 10 points. For example, if the systolic blood pressure (upper limit) is 130 points (or millimeters of mercury) before treatment, it may reach 135-140 in a short time afterwards.
But more is happening as the blood circulates in the "internal circulation. It is also rich in oxygen and all necessary enzymes and nutrients. Several consecutive treatments can even lead to an increase in the hemoglobin count. Blood becomes enriched according to optimal capacity, because all resources and reserves are activated to ensure the function of life, while the body does its best to survive in the perceived critical conditions.
What else is happening at this time? As the internal organs are surrounded and nourished by abundant blood, all critical life processes are accelerated. In other words, during leukocyte therapy, if the performance of any organ is low or damaged, these defects are compensated as much as possible with all the necessary components, so the supported organ can begin to recover. If certain deficiencies are not considered serious under the body's normal "non-survival" mode of operation, this new, unusual, and "considered dangerous" environment mobilizes the body for self-defense and identifies and seeks to address any and all deficiencies. Thus, with a strong, rich blood flow effect, all visceral problems are reduced or eliminated.
We also know that within a specified period of time, the entire body cell range is replaced by new cells, and dead cells are eliminated through the lymphatic system. Extreme cold also helps to effectively eliminate dead cells that would otherwise dull many other work of the body.
2.5 to 3 minutes after the white blood cell treatment, when the client steps out of the freezer into warm air, the brain signals this new temperature change, and then all peripheral tissue expands, including blood vessels, muscle and skin tissue-instead of the contraction that occurs at the beginning of the treatment, when the skin surface temperature rapidly cools to-1oC/32oF.
In the case of a temporary increase in blood pressure caused by white blood cells, blood is now released from the "internal circulation" and flows back to the peripheral tissues, filling all the remote corners of the body, where it is withheld during hypothermia. When this enriched blood reaches the peripheral tissues, they are enhanced in the same beneficial way as the viscera during treatment. In fact, this beneficial process lasts in the body for 6 to 8 hours after treatment.
In summary, we can say that the enriched blood creates favorable conditions for the regeneration of internal organs, the discharge of toxins from the subcutaneous layer, the cell renewal process, the replacement of damaged cells and the elimination of dead cells in peripheral tissues-that is, at the cellular level Revive the body.
Although these processes are initiated by brief exposure of the skin surface to extremely low temperaturesIt is important to understand that tissue is not actually frozen during the procedure. The illusion of severe cold effects can only be created when very cold air temporarily touches the skin where our cold sensor is located.This is one of the essential differences between whole body cryotherapy and ice baths. It is very important to understand this, so let's introduce it in more detail.
Why cryotherapy machines (WBC) are better than ice baths
Today, ice baths are often used in professional sports for the rehabilitation of injured athletes. But the effect of ice baths on the body is completely different from that of cryotherapy machines, and cryotherapy has now proven to be more beneficial without negative side effects. So what are the different effects of ice bath and cryotherapy machine?
First, in a 15-20 minute ice bath, the tissue freezes so deep that the frozen muscles are temporarily incapacitated because it takes time for the muscle tissue to return to normal-not to mention the body's need for rest after the ice bath. Therefore, no matter what time of day the ice bath is performed, the athlete cannot resume practice before the next day. In contrast, the cryotherapy machine does not actually freeze muscle tissue, it only creates a powerful illusion of body freezing. Therefore, another advantage is that only 5 0r 10 minutes after cryotherapy, athletes can continue to exercise or perform, fully energetic and able to make the most of the day.
Next, we need to emphasize that the body's response to low temperature (temperature below -110 oC or -166 oF) in a cryotherapy machine is completely different from the response to low temperature when immersed in an ice bath. The biggest difference is that when gradually cooling in an ice bath, the body's response is to try to heat as much blood as possible in its core so that it can be sent to the peripheral parts to maintain a warm skin surface. In other words, in the ice bath, the body is fighting actual, relentless, penetrating physical cold (not just the signal from the skin cold sensor). This process continues in an attempt to enable the body to generate enough heat to keep the surrounding parts of the body warm. But when the heat is no longer enough, the muscles begin to coagulate and freeze, starting from the surface of the skin and extending inward to the center of the body. For this reason, staying in an ice bath for a long time can cause hypothermia, which can lead to death, because once the process is started, it is difficult to stop.
But in the freezer, the skin surface reaches a temperature of-30oC/40oF in 1-32 seconds, while the outdoor temperature is -170 oC (this is not possible in an ice bath, because the skin temperature cannot be lower than 5 oC/41oF). This signal sent from the skin to the brain about the new critical environment is so powerful that the brain immediately understands-there is no way to keep the body's periphery warm. Instead, blood vessels and capillaries undergo severe vasoconstriction to prevent the body's core temperature from dropping-triggering the process described earlier-blood enrichment and sending it to the internal organs where blood pressure is higher. This never happens in an ice bath.
Finally, in the ice bath, the oxygen supply to the skin surface is interrupted. If the process is repeated frequently, it will cause damage to the skin surface, thereby promoting skin diseases.
When we conclude with a brief explanation of the biochemical level aspects of the cryo-solidification process, we should say that it is presented from a scientific rather than a medical point of view, because although many successful medical studies have been completed in Europe and Asia, there are ongoing but not yet completed official referral studies in the United States.
energy level
The second level affected by cryotherapy is the body's energy level. It is important to note here that modern Western medicine has traditionally even tried to distance itself from the existence of energy levels when referring to the viability of an organism. It is only in recent years that acupuncture, which deals with the meridians of human energy, has become an integral part of medicine, and acupuncturists are recognized as effective doctors. This recognition is an important step forward for modern medicine. At the same time, most Eastern medicine is based, at least in part, on cooperation with the human energy body.
The energy level of the human body consists of a network of energy meridians, similar to the way the circulatory system in the biochemical level is a network of blood vessels, and likewise, as we will see in the next section, the information level is a network of nervous systems.
The human body consists of 12 main meridians and many side meridians, collectively known as the body's energy network. The main meridians are located in the body, while the lateral meridians reach the surface of the skin. When energy flow in any of the meridians is blocked, some organs cannot get enough energy to function properly. This creates dysfunction and the organs begin to die. Unfortunately, modern Western medicine can diagnose organ failure only when the organ is already severely damaged, and symptoms of the disease appear on a biochemical level. Therefore, if we can, like white blood cells, diagnose or simply restore energy flow before the body reaches this stage, many diseases can be prevented.
How do white blood cells stimulate this flow of energy in the body? We know from any physics course that if we take a long enough wire (1 meter or more) and heat one end of it while cooling the other end, the temperature difference will cause a current in the wire. The exact same thing happens to the human energy system when using WBCs. When the temperature of the skin surface drops to -1 oC / 30 oF and the body core temperature is 98.6 oF, a difference of 68.6 oF is sufficient to cause an intense energy flow in the meridians, thereby restoring the energy flow that may have been interrupted. In this case, WBC is used as a preventive and corrective method. By stimulating the energy flow of the human body, it can keep people healthy for a longer time.
Today, we cannot say that any method, including acupuncture, can accurately diagnose potential differences in energy flow, because there are relatively few studies on it. However, even if the exact site of destruction in the body is not known, energy flow recovery will be very beneficial. As today's lifestyle is characterized by stress, immobility, poor eating habits, chemical and biological pollution, and physical injury and surgery, the human energy system is severely damaged. Even scars inside and outside the body are obstacles to the flow of energy through the body. If our energy system is not functioning properly, and the body has the above-mentioned internal failures and damage, then even in the very early stages, there is not enough energy to prevent the aging process, let alone rejuvenate. Aging is a direct result of insufficient energy supply in the body. The restoration of energy flow contributes to the recovery of the body and at least prevents its premature aging.
Therefore, when summarizing the influence of leukocytes on the first two levels of the body, we can say: leukocytes help to enrich the blood and supply it to all the internal organs and peripheral parts of the body by ensuring that the organ has all the "building materials" needed for cell renewal. White blood cells also help provide the necessary energy for the organs to make full use of these materials-because without energy, beneficial processes cannot occur. Also, keep in mind that the organism faces no real danger and no threat of tissue damage during the healing process-it only creates the illusion of an existential threat.
information level
Now we enter the third level-the information layer, which consists of a complex network of the body's nervous system, through which electronic signals, self-analyzed questions and answers, and other detailed information are sent to various parts of the body. (Remember, at this level, the nervous system can be regarded as similar to the circulatory system at the biochemical level, and the energy meridian system at the energy level. This incredible communication system assesses an organism's specific conditions, imperfections and urgent needs in order to know how to recover itself and stay alive.
For example, if the cell division does not follow the pattern determined in the body's information layer, the cell will begin to mutate. Of course, cell mutations can disrupt the body's normal functions. One of the most prominent examples is cell mutations in cancer, which are caused by incorrect cell regeneration. In addition, we must admit that even modern medicine does not know how the human immune system works, there are actually two schools of thought, whether an autoimmune disease in which normal cells mutate in some way and do not perform their required functions is a "real" disease. Autoimmune system diseases are when the body is unable to distinguish its own tissues and substances from foreign elements and attack itself, believing that it is protecting itself from invaders that threaten the health of the organism. Another typical example of an immune disease is psoriasis. WBC has proven to be an effective method in the fight against psoriasis, and Russian clinics have achieved remarkable results, confirming previous assertions.
How do white blood cells affect the recovery of the immune system and the body's information system? Similar to the biochemical system in which brain signals are sent to peripheral tissues, blood vessels constrict during white blood cells due to a significant drop in temperature-in the information layer, the brain sends signals through the nervous system to all parts of the body to determine the degree of damage to each part of the body. This is done to allocate sufficient resources to ensure the viability of the organism, because this function of the brain does not distinguish between important (essential for survival) organs and less important tissues and functions. The human brain will try to perpetuate all the organs and body parts, unlike the survival process of lizards, for example, where the tail is sacrificed to save the rest of the body.
When the brain responds to a perceived critical situation, it examines all body parts and analyzes the signals that come back, creating a complete up-to-date picture of the body's health-the brain needs to properly allocate resources to ensure the body's viability.
Currently, there is no other known method in the world that can provide this kind of information update program. The body's immune system and information system need to correct itself in the early stages of failure. Currently, no medical research even mentions the effect of WBC on the level of information in humans. And because modern medicine doesn't know exactly how the immune system works; it doesn't know how to restore immune function.
Conclusion
However, the course of WBC outcomes we describe here has very impressive evidence, if currently predominantly empirical, from individuals with specific biochemical dysfunctions, autoimmune system diseases, or energetic physical impairments who report significant and lasting improvement after receiving sufficient numbers of WBCs. References to such cases can be found in a variety of reputable sources, including prominent medical journals.