Cryotherapy - Baby It’s Cold Inside

Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy (also known as cold therapy) is broadly defined as the use of very cold temperatures for medical or general wellness purposes.  Modern cryotherapy (which comes from the Greek kyro, meaning “cold” and therapeia,  meaning “healing”) can be traced back thousands of years, and some form of it was practiced by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, among other civilizations, which used extreme cold therapy to treat injuries and reduce inflammation.

In 1978, a Japanese rheumatologist, Toshima Yamaguchi, developed what is known as Whole Body Cryotherapy (“WBC”), in which, cryotherapy is applied to the entire body; that is, the whole body, except the head, is exposed to extremely cold temperatures. Dr. Yamaguchi’s research found that rapid temperature decreases on the outer layers of individuals’ skin led to a rapid release of endorphins, which caused those individuals to become less sensitive to pain. To put his findings into practice, Dr. Yamaguchi and his associates built the world’s first cryochamber.

How Whole Body Cryotherapy Works

Whole body cryotherapy involves enclosing the entire body (excepting the head) in a cryochamber, with liquid nitrogen used to quickly chill the chamber to temperatures between -200 and -300 degrees Fahrenheit for a period not longer that 2-4 minutes. The extremely rapid cooling of the body causes blood flow to concentrate towards the body’s core, and away from the extremities, which, in concept, can reduce inflammation relating to soft tissue injuries.  At the same time, the body releases endorphins, which serve to decrease pain and increase feelings of euphoria.

Health Benefits Attributed to Whole Body Cryotherapy

Whole body cryotherapy is used to treat patients suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions, as well as, Olympic and other elite athletes experiencing muscle soreness, and to shorten recovery times from injuries and surgeries.

Cryotherapy is used to treat joint pain and inflammation due to arthritis and fibromyalgia, and for pain management, physical therapy, anti-aging, and weight loss treatments.

Oxygen Monitors Can Protect Cryochamber Workers and Users

In 2015, a cryotherapy facility employee in Las Vegas was found dead after she suffocated in a chamber.  The coroner’s office concluded that the death was caused by accidental asphyxiation, resulting from low oxygen levels, possibly resulting from a leak of the nitrogen gas used to rapidly chill the cryochamber. Nitrogen is an oxygen-depleting gas that is both odorless and colorless. Oxygen deprivation is called a silent killer because there are no indications that one is breathing oxygen deficient air until it is too late. As such, absent appropriate monitoring, workers would be unable to detect a nitrogen leak if one were to occur in a gas cylinder or line. Conversely, by utilizing a top-quality oxygen monitor, also known as an oxygen deficiency monitor, cryochamber personnel can track oxygen levels and detect leaks before a workers’ and users’ health is jeopardized.

PureAire Monitors

PureAire Monitoring Systems’ oxygen monitors continuously track levels of oxygen and will detect nitrogen leaks before the health of cryochamber operators or users is put at risk. Built with zirconium oxide sensor cells, to ensure longevity, PureAire’s O2 monitors can last, trouble-free, for over 10 years under normal operating conditions.  In the event of a nitrogen gas leak, and a decrease in oxygen to an unsafe level, the monitor will set off an alarm, replete with horns and flashing lights, alerting staff and users to evacuate the area.

Best practice calls for oxygen monitors to be installed anywhere there is a risk of gas leaks. The oxygen monitors should be placed wherever nitrogen is stored and, in all rooms where nitrogen is used.

PureAire oxygen monitors measure oxygen 24/7, with no time-consuming maintenance or calibration required.

Each PureAire O2 monitor has an easy to read screen, which displays current oxygen levels, for at-a-glance readings by cryochamber employees, who derive peace of mind from the monitor’s presence and reliability.

Cryotherapy is Cool

Cryotherapy is a real facet of medical treatment that uses extremely low temperatures to help with pain and inflammation. Not to be confused with cryopreservation, in cryotherapy the patients are only subjected to the cold for minutes. It seems like something futuristic, but it is actually an increasingly common treatment among athletes to replace ice baths and ice pack therapies.

More specifically, cryogenic chamber therapy, or Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC), uses liquid nitrogen to cool a chamber to around -185oF. The patient spends a few minutes in the chamber wearing only a bathing suit, socks, gloves and facial protection (to prevent frostbite), allowing the skin temperature to drop while the core body temperature remains stable. This WBC treatment improves many types of muscle and joint pain and helps in the rehabilitation of injuries.

These cryotherapy systems are currently being used by sports teams such as the San Antonio Spurs, the LA Clippers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves, just to name a few. Everyone from Olympians, to rugby players, to non-athletes looking for pain relief utilize WBC. The super cooling power of liquid nitrogen can be a blessing to those in pain, but precautions need to be taken to assure this tricky chemical remains safe. In the event of a liquid nitrogen leak, the patient could suffocate from lack of breathable air. This is why an Oxygen Deficiency Monitor is important to have in any facility that uses liquid nitrogen.

PureAire Monitoring Systems provides a product that would be ideal for this type of application. Their Oxygen Deficiency Monitor that uses a sample draw system is one of the best in the industry, and can be hooked into an alarm or horn and strobe to alert the chamber operator and patients in case of a leak. The oxygen monitor can even be programmed to turn off the nitrogen tanks in the event of a leak in the system.

The O2 monitor would be situated outside the chamber. Through a tube, air samples from inside the chamber would be analyzed to make sure the oxygen level remains at a safe and breathable 20.9%. Any nitrogen leak would reduce the percent of oxygen and trigger an alarm. Because the oxygen deficiency monitor’s sensor lasts at least 10 years without maintenance, safety is guaranteed for many years to come. Cryogenic chamber therapy has the potential to help many people treat their pain, and with the use of an oxygen monitor, they can do so safely.

For more information, please visit our web site at: www.PureAireMonitoring.com, or www.MonitorOxygen.com. If you have any questions, we’d love to speak with you. Call us at: 1-888-788-8050

About PureAire Monitoring Systems, Inc.
PureAire is the industry leader in gas monitoring solutions enabling organizations to ensure safe work environments, minimize compliance risk, and reduce associated costs. Over 1,000 organizations across the globe use PureAire gas monitoring solutions. Beginning in 1996, PureAire’s growth has been a result of an unbeatable combination of innovation and experience in solving safety and environmental needs for customers, as well as a total commitment to supporting the customer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week