The Deep Freeze: The hype behind cryo-chambers

Why more and more athletes are embracing the cold.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Upon first glance, it appears to be something straight out of “Star Wars.”

“When you open up the door, especially when you finish a session, all the little nitrogen smoke comes out,” said James Hairston. “That is a pretty dope sighting.”

But as cool as it looks, it’s literally way cooler inside, and that is why the 39-year-old basketball instructor swears by it.

“First time I ever did it, it was a couple months ago,” he recalls. “I got in and once I got out, I just went out there and dunked the ball. It was that type of relief for me.”

Hairston says it all changed for the better the moment his gym in north Charlotte, Shoot 360, added a cryotherapy chamber. Despite its cost of $35,000, owner Aerik Williams believed it was a must-have for his business.

“What the NFL athletes and what the NBA athletes do, our athletes like to mimic,” Williams says. “We are in that sort of culture.”

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the U.S. is the largest market for cryo-chambers with a growing rate of nearly 8 percent by the year 2026. While some still dismiss it as nothing more than a passing fad, Physical Therapist Delaine Fowler is a believer, citing a wide range of benefits for those who do it.

“It brings all those good nutrients back into your system,” Fowler explains. “(It) flushes those joints, the muscles, with what you need to be less inflamed and recover faster.”

The extreme cold makes it all happen with temperatures getting down to 148 below zero in the chamber. With clothes on, one can feel the frost building up.

It’s tough, but fortunately it is also fast. In fact, a typical cryo-chamber session lasts only three minutes, about 10 minutes less than the average ice bath.

“Our athletes absolutely love it,” Williams said. “They love it because they are able to train at a high rate, expend a lot of energy, and then they come in and they use the machine and then the next day, where the other athletes are tired, they are not tired.

The stuff of science fiction? No way!

“It has been a godsend honestly!” Hairston said.

It’s keeping them in the game. One deep freeze at time.

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