Whole body cryotherapy at BMI The Garden Hospital

AS News, the journal of the National Ankylosing Spondylitis Society (NASS), has run an article highlighting the health benefits of Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) treatments. It can aid sufferers of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a type of chronic arthritis that affects parts of the spine, including the bones, muscles and ligaments.

The cryotherapy pod, located in the physiotherapy department at The Garden Hospital, offers patients, across a wide variety of medical fields, access to a treatment that can relieve pain, decrease inflammation and swelling, shorten rehabilitation times, help increase blood circulation and improve athletic performance. The new treatment and innovative technology at The Garden Hospital  was made possible through a joint partnership with CryoClinics, a specialist provider in the field of whole body cryotherapy.

The process:

The patient enters the pod in their bathing suit, with socks, gloves, mouth and ear protection, and the pod is cooled to a temperature of -80°C for three minutes. Whilst in the pod, the patient’s average skin temperature never drops lower than 5°C. The core body temperature remains unchanged.

Exposure to whole body cryotherapy triggers the release of endorphins and induces natural pain relief in the body. The immediate effect of skin cooling and pain relief lasts for five minutes, but the release of endorphins can reduce pain and inflammation in some patients for many weeks. The whole body cryotherapy treatment can be used in isolation for some conditions or as part of a patient’s physiotherapy regime following surgery or trauma, to further enhance recovery and mobility.

To read more information on WBC at The Garden Hospital please click here or to make an enquiry about this treatment please click here.