Cryotherapy Machines
vs. Cold Plunges
Cryotherapy Machines
vs. Cold Plunges
vs. Cold Plunges
What is the best cold exposure therapy?
What are Cryotherapy Machines and Chambers?
Cryotherapy machines are designed for whole body cold exposure therapy.
Temperatures go as low as -166 to -222 degrees Fahrenheit.
These temperatures are reached through the use of liquid nitrogen gas.
Some cryotherapy machines are large walk in chambers; others are tubes that encapsulate your body except for your head.
This modality of cold exposure therapy, or cryotherapy, was popularized in the 2000s and 2010s by celebrities and athletes.
It was touted for its cascading health benefits and mood enhancing side effects.
Fast forward to today, and our understanding of cryotherapy has expanded 100 fold.
There is a renaissance occurring now in cold exposure therapy, contrast therapy, and the effects of both cold and hot our bodies.
Cryotherapy was the pinnacle cold experience.
However, it has recently lost the crown to ice baths and cold plunges—the best tools for cold exposure therapy.
Cryotherapy Machines Require Gloves and Foot Covering
Do cryotherpy machines mimic anything we would encounter in nature? Would we encounter -200° nitrogen gas in nature during our evolutionary history?
Is there a better cold exposure tool that make cryotherapy chambers unnecessary?
Cryotherapy machines are not the best tool for cold exposure therapy.
When it comes to heat transference between cryotherapy machines vs. cold plunges, submerging yourself in water vs. cold air is 20x more effective at transferring heat.
This is because water molecules are closer together than air molecules, which are farther apart and therefore not as good at absorbing heat.
You intuitively know this to be true. If you go into a walk-in freezer, you know you need to get out soon, but it’s not immediate life or death. If you fall through the ice into a frozen lake (ice cold water), you go into immediate panic—your body knows it’s a life and death situation.
It turns out that this life or death alarm—the fight or flight response—is a key factor to cascading health benefits from cold exposure therapy.
In order words, cold plunges are far superior than cryotherapy chambers because they activate your fight or flight much more acutely.
Why cryotherapy machines are inferior to cold plunges and ice baths
1. Less heat transference
2. More expensive
3. High cost per use (nitrogen gas refill)
4. Difficult to operate
5. Maintenance and servicing costs
Why cold plunges (full body cold water submersion to the neck) are better than cryotherapy machines and chambers
With a self-contained cold plunge or ice bath, your cost per use is based on changing water.
Forget expensive nitrogen refills, machine downtimes, expensive maintenance and serviceability.
Your variable cost per use is much less expensive.
In addition, cold plunges offer:
1. Acute fight or flight response activation
2. Deeper penetrating cold for anti-inflammation
3. Full body recovery, including arms and legs
4. Self-titration and varying temperatures (like changing reps and sets lifting weights)
5. Back-to-back, high volume use
6. Easy to maintain and service
Cold Plunges are the perfect complement to saunas, spas, gyms, backyards, patios.
Rather than buying a cryotherapy machine, you are far better
of with a cold plunge.
As far as flow rate to disrupt the thermal barrier and
provide you the pinnacle expression of cold exposure therapy, we believe
BlueCubes are the best cold plunges.
We are the only commercial capable cold plunge™ with direct cold dose, center mass outlets. This means cold water directed straight to your core.
It feels like the Arctic Ocean, like a winter stream rushing
cold water around you.
We encourage you to check out our BlueCube Cold Plunges. Forget
cryotherapy machines; embrace the future of cold exposure therapy.