What does cold therapy do? How can I try it at home, safely? Are there proven benefits of doing cold therapy? These are all wonderful questions we will cover in this post + I will teach you how to do it at home yourself and how to look for local businesses that offer it. This ebook/program written by my doctor will teach you all you need to know like the specs, details and safety of cold therapy.

Can you handle the cold (STOP HERE)

Before we get started, it’s important to assess your tolerance or intolerance to the cold. Cold can cause severe and life-threatening reactions. Consult with your doctor before attempting to get cold. If you have sickle cell disease, cold therapy is absolutely contraindicated. If you have cold-induced asthma, angioedema, or urticaria, you should talk to your doctor before getting cold. Raynaud’s disease and cold-agglutinins disease may be contraindications, depending on severity. If you have any of the above conditions, do not attempt cold exposure (including the following test) until you have consulted with a physician. 

You can’t just jump into a freezing cold lake without easing in. Take your time and track your results and progress! Please be safe, friend. For further instruction on how to adapt to the cold and do it safely, I recommend you purchase this Ebook/program written by my doctor.

Why our bodies need cold

Since the beginning of time, we’ve experienced the elements. Now, we live in temperature controlled homes and work in temperature controlled offices. More than ever, we need to be asking “what does cold therapy do?”. We never experience cold and we are too accustomed to being comfortable. This reduces the brown fat in our bodies. Scientists believed for many years that this fat left our bodies when we grew up into toddlers and were not longer babies. They now know this isn’t true and that the fat was lying dormant… ready to be activated and increased by COLD!

Exposure to cold works in many ways and my favorite is that it contracts our lymphatic system and gets it flowing. Unlike our heart, our lymphatic system needs to be manually moved and pumped. Getting cold is just the trick!

p.s. those “fat burning” center that “freeze your fat” are simply using isolated cold therapy! You can do it at home and save yourself thousands of dollars! If I wanted to get rich, I could do this but that’s just silly! I choose nature instead.

What does cold therapy do

Hydrotherapy is one of the basic methods of treatment in natural medicine since the beginning of time! Cold application can cause physiologic reactions like a decrease in local edema, muscle spasm and even an increase in local anesthesia effect. It can lower heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Cortisol levels also usually decrease when one does cold therapy. It also produced compensatory vasodilation meaning there was increased blood flow to the area below exposure (in the tissue). Plus, it boosts the metabolism. (1)

“Regular winter swimming significantly decreased tension, fatigue, memory, and mood negative state points with the duration of swimming period; significantly increased vigor-activity scores; relieved pain who suffered from rheumatism, fibromyalgia, or asthma; and improved general well-being in swimmers.” (1)

Daily cold exposure – only briefly – can increase level of NK cells and peripheral cytotoxic T-lymphocytes. “The sustained/longer-term effects of cold stress repeated daily over the period of 5 days to 6 weeks increased plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-2, IL-6.” (1) This could lead to improved immune health which is amazing!

Does cold therapy support our hormones

During cold therapy (cold exposure or cold stress) increased levels of norepinephrine was observed. They also observed that exercising the HPA system with cold therapy could possibly restore its normal function in those with chronic fatigue syndrome or at least increase HPA activity! This is great news for those with slugging metabolism and hormones!

How to do cold therapy at home

I highly recommend you buy this ebook and program by my doctor Dr. Stillman. It takes this entire post and directs it further. He uses video, graphs, charts and text to explain why cold therapy works and exactly how to do it safely in your own home.

One way to do cold therapy at home is with a dedicated cold tank. This is a specific tub, bin or even a deep freeze that’s filled with water that you can keep cold! You add the water, get a cover and keep it in there at all times. All you have to do is get it to temp when you’re ready. If you live in a cold water climate, this one is super easy to keep up with.

Another great way to try it at home is in your bath tub. This method is free and all you need is super cold water or ice cubes. You don’t have to worry about getting it to temp because you will create the temperature you want with water and ice.

Alternatively, you can submerge your feet and hands into buckets when you’re first getting started. Ice packs are another great introductory method and you can do it at home by placing them on localized areas of your body.

You’ll need to makes sure you do it under medical supervision or consult with your doctor if you have any existing health conditions. A thermometer is a must and you need to test the water before you ever get in.

How to do cold therapy at a location

Look up “cryotherapy _______ (insert your location)” or “cold therapy ______ (insert your location)”. Many wellness centers and even gyms offer this service. You’ll be shocked at all the places you drive by on a daily basis and didn’t even know about.

Resources:
(1) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4049052/