Its practitioners and supporters claim cryotherapy can do everything from controlling weight to reducing pain, and even eliminating cancer in certain trouble spots. It is used in some cancer and skin surgery in a type of localized cryotherapy that is often called cryosurgery. The procedures are sometimes called cryoablation, percutaneous cryoablation, or cryosurgery in addition to cryotherapy. It is used extensively in professional athletic training, helping athletes with sore bodies and other recovery issues after games or exercising.
The problem many medical professionals have with cryotherapy is that there is little research to date to back many claims of its benefits. That doesn’t mean it won’t work, and the practice of cold treatments has obvious benefits in athletic training.
But such a lack of formal, official research provides an avenue for skeptics to doubt and charlatans to claim outlandish benefits. That leaves the medical community in somewhat of a no man's land. While it seems like cryotherapy has its benefits, it is hard to say with any authority that it can truly help with all the conditions some claim.
Cryotherapy: What to Expect
Individual sessions can range from $40 and up for cryotherapy treatments, which usually involve standing in a cold chamber in whole-body cryotherapy, or laying in a chilled chamber for a limited amount of time in certain health spas.