Whole body cryotherapy is all about a change in tissue temperature caused by the exposure to cold air which produces a thermal shock. When you are placed in our cryo:one+ cryotherapy chamber, your body responds by constricting your blood vessels (known as vasoconstriction). With this action, the blood is pushed towards your organs. This causes the blood to take on more oxygen and become nutrient rich. The sensory shock leads to an activation of the autonomic nervous system. This is characterised by rising endorphins and norepinephrine levels, increased blood pressure and heart rate variability.

As soon as you exit the cryotherapy chamber, your body begins to start heating up again. The blood vessels expand (vasodilation) oxygen and nutrient-rich blood flows back to the bodily tissues, with an increased presence of anti-inflammatory proteins found in the blood.

Scientists also suggest that cryotherapy can also create an analgesic (pain-relieving) effect. This happens as the nerve transmission from nerves to the brain are ‘blunted’. This suggests that cryotherapy could be an effective therapy for pain-causing conditions (similar to placing an ice pack on an injured area to help relieve pain, temporarily).

The cryo:one+ chamber, here at Leicester MediSpa is an electric chamber which offers substantial benefits over traditional liquid nitrogen cryotherapy chambers including significantly more cooling, greater autonomic response, higher cellular activation and more uniform decreased skin temperature.

A cryotherapy chamber session involves standing in the cryo:one+ chamber for a recommended time of 3 minutes. Your entire body, including your head, is exposed to approximately -85 to – 87°C. As the air is so cold, the exposure time is very short. This makes a cryotherapy chamber session very convenient and something you can do in your lunch break, with plenty of time to spare.

As there are several contraindications to having a cryotherapy chamber session, we will ask that you complete a medical history form upon booking. We will also complete a pre-treatment consultation and consent form, prior to offering you this treatment, to ensure the treatment will be both safe and effective for you.

Absolute contraindications include:

Relative contra-indications which require you consult and gain clearance from your doctor:

Single and multi-person walk-in cryochambers have been used for almost 40 years for a range of health and wellbeing treatments. Issues only arise if patients do not adhere to the instructions of their practitioner, for example, if they step into the machine with moisture/ wet clothing, especially wet socks, as water will freeze instantly at these temperatures.

To protect the sensitive tissues and extremities, such as the hands and feet, we require that you wear a face mask, wool socks, headband/hat, slippers and gloves, which we provide.

For optimum skin exposure we advise men to wear loose-fitting shorts, socks and either take off their shirts or wear a vest top. Women should wear swimwear or relaxed shorts, and a sports bra/vest top and socks.

Ultimately your degree of comfort and desire for the best results will dictate what you wear throughout the treatment. Please ensure you are not wearing any clothing with metal, including a bra with underwire. Please ensure that all clothing is dry. Jewellery and watches exposed to the skin and cold air should be removed.

Before entering the cryo:one+ cryochamber, we will offer you the protective clothing you need for a comfortable treatment. The session is very short (2 to 3 minutes), and the cold is a ‘dry’ cold, so it is very tolerable. Towards the end of your cryotherapy session, you may experience the sensation of ‘pins and needles’, which will disappear immediately, after the treatment. Red skin is normal post cryotherapy and will subside in a few minutes.

Most of our patients report that after each cryo:one+ session, they feel energized and revitalised.

We would usually recommend a course of around 5 to 10 treatments, in close succession (separated by 1 to 2 days). After which, you may be able to take fewer treatments, spaced further apart to both maintain and improve results. During your pre-treatment consultation, our practitioner will go through your wellness goals and advise a bespoke treatment regime.

The immediate cold impact of the cryotherapy session will only lower the internal body temperature for a very short period of time, so you will not be at risk of catching a cold.

The door of the chamber is never locked, and you can step out at any time, if you feel slightly claustrophobic. The session is continually monitored by one of our practitioners, who will be on hand at all times.

This procedure is dry and does not make your skin wet. Therefore, you will not have to shower before or after the treatment.