Cryotherapy is the new rage in football fitness and recovery. It is a recovery method that has become the go-to aid for footballers looking to improve and rehabilitate damaged body tissue.

Football clubs and professional players all over the world have adopted cryotherapy for their post-training and post-match recovery. But what is it and how does it help the body heal?

What is cryotherapy?

Cryotherapy exposes the body to temperatures as low as -152C for a few minutes. Some clubs have players complete two sessions of the recovery therapy for 30 minutes at a time. Of course, the temperatures are not as cold and far more bearable.

The cold therapy shocks the body into gear and aids the recovery process following a match or training.

According to studies, the treatment not only helps the body recoup but it allows players to train with greater intensity. It reduces muscle soreness, aids sleep, and provides an exhilarating sensation once the player emerges from the cryotherapy chamber.

Who uses the recovery ice-box chambers?

Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Jamie Vardy are just three of the top-flight players who have regularly used cryotherapy. Bale has been known to rave about the recovery system, and it makes sense, as the Real Madrid man is often suffering from injury.

According to players, the ice-box is absolutely freezing and thinner, lighter players are able to stay inside the chambers longer than bigger footballers.

Cryotherapy isn’t just used in sports to improve the body against injury. A number of beauty salons and clinics around the world employee the science and promote it to clients. They claim it burns calories, speeds up the metabolism, and improves the skin.

Using cold to treat the body is nothing new. In Nordic countries, it isn’t uncommon for individuals to take a plunge into freezing cold waters. It is a method that has been known to help increase metabolism and do things such as cure hangovers and burn fat.

Cryotherapy isn’t cheap, so any player thinking about buying a chamber will be disappointed to know they will cost a large sum. However, the ice cold science could do a body good, so looking for a clinic that provides cryotherapy might not be a bad idea.