Exposure: Whole-Body Cryotherapy

What It Is

Whole-body cryotherapy is a short exposure to extreme dry cold. In the walk-in version you step into a chamber or cabin cooled with refrigerated air to somewhere below -148°F (minus one hundred degrees Celsius), usually wearing little more than underwear, gloves, socks and ear protection, and stay for two to four minutes while an attendant watches. It began in clinical use for rheumatic pain and moved into gyms, spas and recovery studios, where it is sold for faster recovery, less inflammation, better sleep and a brighter mood.

Cryotherapy is easily confused with two other things. The first is cold exposure in water: cryotherapy delivers the cold stress through air in a chamber, while a plunge or ice bath delivers a comparable stress through water for a small fraction of the cost. The second is between the two kinds of cryotherapy device. A true whole-body chamber cools the air electrically and you stand in it fully. A single-person partial-body unit is a narrow tub cooled by vaporized liquid nitrogen, with your head above the rim in room air. They are marketed as the same treatment, but the nitrogen units have a hazard the air-cooled chambers do not, covered under cautions below.

Anatomy of the Practice

1In the chamber

Skin cools within seconds and surface blood vessels clamp down. This vasoconstriction shunts blood away from the skin toward the core, and the sudden cold sets off a surge of catecholamines, adrenaline and noradrenaline, the chemistry behind the jolt of alertness people feel stepping out.

2Coming out

As you rewarm, the surface vessels open again and blood flows back to the skin. Heart rate and blood pressure, which rise on entry, settle over the following minutes. Core temperature barely changes in a session this short; the effect is mostly at the skin and in the nervous system.

3Over a course

Repeated sessions are proposed to shift the balance of inflammatory signaling and to steady the autonomic nervous system toward a calmer resting state. This is the mechanism people point to for the pain and mood signals, though it is better described as a plausible pathway than a settled cause.

What It Does

The clearest use is the oldest one. Pooling six studies of 257 rheumatoid arthritis patients, a course of cryotherapy lowered joint pain and a standard measure of disease activity, enough that the reviewers thought it might let some people use less anti-inflammatory medication. It is an add-on to medical treatment for the disease, not a replacement, and the reviewers called for stronger trials with defined protocols.

Mood is the next strongest signal. In a sham-controlled trial of people already being treated for a depressive episode, ten sessions added to their medication lowered depression scores more than a fake exposure, on both the Hamilton scale and the Beck Depression Inventory, and lifted self-rated mood and quality of life. Sleep and vitality did not change in that trial. Two smaller studies point the same way:

• Seventeen women athletes slept better and felt less fatigued after cryostimulation during the part of the menstrual cycle when sleep usually suffers.
• A clinic group of fifty-five pain patients reported higher mood and well-being after ten sessions, most in those who felt worst going in, though that study had no comparison group.

After a hard run, cryotherapy also lowered blood markers of inflammation and muscle breakdown in twelve male runners, more than a cold-water bath did in the same study.

For the everyday use most studios sell it for, bouncing back from a hard workout, the picture is thin. A Cochrane review of the pooled trials on muscle soreness found only four small laboratory studies, rated the evidence very low quality, and could not say whether the chamber helps recovery at all. The elaborate full chamber shows no advantage for its price: it beats neither a cold-water bath nor the cheaper partial-body unit that leaves the head out. Strength training is the one setting where the effect works against you: cold taken soon after lifting can blunt the muscle and strength you just trained for. The research below grades each finding at its own strength.

The Research & Studies

Everything here is based on the research we have collected and checked, sorted into groups and ordered with the strongest evidence first. Click any claim to open the studies behind it.

Exercise Recovery

A full chamber no better than partial-body cryotherapy across six studies of 120 peopleEmerging · no effect

In plain terms

Standing in a full walk-in chamber does not appear to beat the cheaper partial-body unit that leaves your head out. When the two were compared, they moved soreness, performance and muscle-damage markers about the same.

In detail

A 2022 systematic review with meta-analysis pooled six studies and 120 participants comparing whole-body cryotherapy with partial-body cryotherapy on muscle performance, delayed-onset soreness, creatine kinase and heart-rate variability after exercise-induced muscle damage. Study quality was moderate, averaging 4.3 out of 10 on the PEDro scale. The two modalities produced similar global responses with no difference between them. This does not settle whether either beats doing nothing; it says the more elaborate full chamber carries no measured edge over the partial unit.

The study · 1

Azevedo et al., different cryotherapy modalities demonstrate similar effects on muscle performance, soreness, and damage in healthy individuals and athletes · J Clin Med 2022;11(15):4441

Muscle soreness no different from rest by 24 hours in four small, very-low-quality trialsPreliminary · mixed

In plain terms

The pooled evidence that a few minutes in the cold chamber eases muscle soreness is thin. In four small trials the soreness scores leaned slightly in favor of cryotherapy early on, but the results were not consistent enough to say it works, and the studies were rated very low quality.

In detail

A 2015 Cochrane review found four laboratory randomized trials, 64 physically active adults of mean age 23 and all but four of them male. Against rest, whole-body cryotherapy lowered self-reported soreness at 1 hour (SMD -0.77, 95% CI -1.42 to -0.12), but at 24 hours (SMD -0.57), 48 hours (SMD -0.58) and 72 hours (SMD -0.65) the confidence intervals also included no between-group difference or a benefit favoring the control group. One nine-person trial found better well-being and no difference in tiredness. All four trials carried a high risk of bias and the evidence for every outcome was graded very low quality. The reviewers concluded there is insufficient evidence to say whether the practice reduces soreness or improves recovery, and that adverse events were not tracked.

Who this may not transfer to:Sixty of the 64 participants were male, and the reviewers noted there is no evidence on the use of this intervention in women or in elite athletes, so the recovery picture in those groups is unmeasured.

The study · 1

Costello et al., whole-body cryotherapy (extreme cold air exposure) for preventing and treating muscle soreness after exercise in adults · Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2015;(9):CD010789

Lower inflammatory and muscle-damage markers after hard running in 12 male runnersPreliminary

In plain terms

After a hard run that damages muscle, sessions in the cold chamber brought down blood markers of inflammation and muscle breakdown, in this small study more so than a cold-water bath did.

In detail

Twelve male middle- and long-distance runners completed a muscle-damage protocol and were treated with cold-water immersion, contrast-water therapy, whole-body cryotherapy or a no-treatment control, with markers sampled at seven time points out to 96 hours. Whole-body cryotherapy reduced interleukin-6 versus cold-water immersion, and reduced sICAM-1 versus all three other conditions. It also improved recovery of lactate dehydrogenase and myoglobin versus rest and cold-water immersion. The study is a strong hint that the cold-air chamber shifts the inflammatory response after exercise, but it rests on 12 men and a single laboratory protocol.

Who this may not transfer to:Twelve trained men. The inflammatory response to exercise and to cold differs with training status, sex and hormonal state, so the size of the shift in women or in untrained people is not established here.

The study · 1

Qu et al., cryotherapy on subjective sleep quality, muscle, and inflammatory response in Chinese middle- and long-distance runners after muscle damage · J Strength Cond Res 2022;36(10):2883-2890

Pain

A course of cryotherapy eased rheumatoid-arthritis pain and disease activity across 257 patientsEmerging

In plain terms

In people with rheumatoid arthritis, a course of cold-chamber sessions eased joint pain and lowered a standard measure of disease activity, enough that it may let some people use less medication. It is used as an add-on, not a replacement for treatment.

In detail

A 2014 systematic review of cryotherapy in inflammatory rheumatic diseases pooled six studies including 257 rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with local or whole-body cryotherapy, and found a significant decrease in the pain visual-analogue scale and the DAS28 disease-activity score after a course of treatment. The proposed mechanism is a fall in intra-joint temperature that downregulates inflammatory mediators, cartilage-degrading enzymes and pro-angiogenic factors, though the reviewers noted such molecular studies in rheumatoid arthritis are rare. They positioned cryotherapy as an adjunct with potential corticosteroid and NSAID dose-sparing effects, while calling for stronger randomized trials with defined protocols.

The study · 1

Guillot et al., cryotherapy in inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a systematic review · Expert Rev Clin Immunol 2014;10(2):281-94

Mood & stress

Ten sessions added to medication lowered depression scores more than a sham exposureEmerging

In plain terms

For people already being treated for depression, a two-week course of cold-chamber sessions added on top of their medication lowered depression scores more than a fake exposure did, and lifted mood and quality of life. Sleep and vitality did not change.

In detail

A prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial enrolled 92 medically stable adults aged 20 to 73 with a depressive episode, giving ten sessions at -166 to -256°F (-110 to -160 degrees Celsius) or a non-cryogenic -58°F (-50 degree) control; 30 and 26 completed. The cryotherapy group improved more on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (time-by-group interaction p=0.02) and the Beck Depression Inventory (p=0.01), with gains in quality of life, self-assessed mood and disease acceptance. There were no significant changes in sexual satisfaction, self-assessed vitality or sleep. The authors framed it as a useful add-on to standard pharmacological treatment rather than a stand-alone therapy.

The study · 1

Rymaszewska et al., efficacy of the whole-body cryotherapy as add-on therapy to pharmacological treatment of depression: a randomized controlled trial · Front Psychiatry 2020;11:522

Mood and well-being rose after ten sessions in 55 pain patients, with no control groupPreliminary

In plain terms

In a clinic group of 55 pain patients, mood and sense of well-being improved after ten cold-chamber sessions, most of all in the people who felt worst going in. There was no comparison group, so some of this could be the effect of attention and expectation.

In detail

In a single-group study, 55 patients, 43 women and 12 men aged 20 to 70 with spinal pain syndromes or peripheral joint disease, completed ten whole-body cryotherapy sessions and were surveyed before and after using the WHOQOL-Bref and the Psychological General Well-Being Index. Both scores improved significantly after the course, with the effect stronger in those whose mental state was poorest at baseline. Because there was no control group, the design cannot separate the cold exposure from the attention, routine and expectation that come with a course of treatment.

The study · 1

Szczepanska-Gieracha et al., mental state and quality of life after 10 session whole-body cryotherapy · Psychol Health Med 2014;19(1):40-6

Muscle And Strength

Cold right after lifting blunted 12-week gains that active recovery grew 17% and 26%Emerging · risk

In plain terms

Cold applied in the hours right after lifting weights blunts the muscle and strength you just trained for. This is best shown for cold-water immersion, and the same anti-inflammatory mechanism is the reason to keep the cold chamber away from that window too.

In detail

In a controlled trial, 21 physically active men strength trained for 12 weeks, twice a week, with either cold-water immersion or active recovery after each session. The active-recovery group gained more, with type II fiber cross-sectional area up 17 percent and myonuclei per fiber up 26 percent, neither of which moved with cold, and a companion study found cold blunted the satellite-cell and p70S6 kinase anabolic response to a session. This was measured with cold-water immersion rather than the cold chamber, but whole-body cryotherapy works through the same dampening of post-exercise inflammation and anabolic signaling, so the timing concern carries across. Full account on the contrast-therapy page.

Who this may not transfer to:Measured in young active men using cold-water immersion. The mechanism is general, but the size of the effect in women, older adults, or specifically with the cold-air chamber has not been established.

How to use it

If building strength or muscle is the goal, keep any deliberate cold, chamber or water, out of the few hours right after lifting. Use it on a rest day, in the morning, or before you train. If recovering for a competition tomorrow matters more than long-term gains, taking the cold soon after is a fair trade to make on purpose.

The study · 1

Roberts et al., post-exercise cold water immersion attenuates acute anabolic signalling and long-term adaptations in muscle to strength training · J Physiol 2015;593(18):4285-301

Sleep

Better measured sleep and less fatigue in 17 women athletes at the mid-luteal phasePreliminary

In plain terms

In a small study of young sportswomen, cold-chamber sessions improved measured sleep quality and eased fatigue during the part of the menstrual cycle when sleep tends to suffer.

In detail

A randomized, controlled, crossover study followed 17 naturally menstruating women, mean age 24, across two cycles, comparing an experimental cycle with two three-day blocks of whole-body cryostimulation at -166°F (-110 degrees Celsius) for three minutes against a control cycle without it. The mid-luteal phase showed poorer objective sleep quality, more fatigue, higher core temperature and greater sympathetic activity than the early follicular phase. Cryostimulation improved objective sleep quality and perceived fatigue during the mid-luteal phase and appeared to help restore thermoregulatory function, although sympathetic activity stayed elevated. This is a rare piece of women-specific evidence for the practice.

Who this may not transfer to:Measured only in young menstruating women, and the effect was tied to a menstrual-cycle phase, so it does not transfer to men, and the mechanism it targets does not exist in the same form for them.

The study · 1

Messaoudène et al., maximizing sleep quality and well-being in female athletes: the role of the menstrual cycle and whole-body cryostimulation · Cryobiology 2025;120:105283

How It Works

The immediate effects are straightforward physiology. Rapid skin cooling drives vasoconstriction and a catecholamine surge, the same acute response cold water produces, and the noradrenaline rise is the most likely reason a session leaves people feeling sharp and alert the same day. The claimed longer-term benefits rest on a proposed anti-inflammatory shift: cooling the skin and the tissue beneath it is thought to lower the release of inflammatory cytokines and to move the balance toward anti-inflammatory signaling over a course of sessions. That pathway is plausible and partly measured in blood markers, and it is the reasoning behind the use in rheumatic joint pain.

The same mechanism is why the timing around strength training matters. The inflammation and anabolic signaling a hard lifting set touches off are part of how muscle rebuilds thicker, and cold applied soon afterwards damps that signal. This is best documented for cold-water immersion, where a twelve-week trial found cold after each session left muscle and strength gains behind those of active recovery. Whole-body cryotherapy works through the same dampening of post-exercise inflammation, so the timing concern carries across: cold soon after lifting works against the very adaptation you trained for.

Getting It Right

A session is quick and, in a properly run facility, undemanding: a few minutes standing in the cold chamber with an attendant present, skin dry, and the extremities protected as the facility directs. The people most likely to get something from it are those with the conditions the clinical evidence covers, chronic rheumatic joint pain in particular, and people after a same-day lift in mood and alertness.

If the goal is recovery on a budget, cold water is the sensible first choice, since it delivers a comparable stress for far less money and nothing shows the chamber outperforming it. The chamber offers convenience and comfort, dry cold for a couple of minutes in place of sitting in cold water. If building strength or muscle is the point, keep any deliberate cold away from the few hours right after lifting, and use it on a rest day, in the morning, or before you train. And if you are choosing between devices, favor an air-cooled walk-in chamber over a single-person nitrogen unit for the safety reasons set out below. The United States Food and Drug Administration has issued a consumer warning that it has cleared no cryotherapy device for treating any medical condition and that the marketed benefits have little scientific backing, which squares with the graded record here.

If you use a single-person nitrogen unit, never use it alone. Evaporating nitrogen can lower the oxygen in a small unventilated space, and a fatal asphyxiation has been reported from unattended use. An operator should be present and the space ventilated.

Go Deeper

• Cold exposure: the cold-water side of the same idea, where a plunge or ice bath delivers a comparable stress at a fraction of the cost, with its own research and how to start.
• Contrast therapy: heat and cold together, and the full account of how cold soon after lifting can blunt strength and muscle gains.
• Resistance training: why the timing of any cold around lifting matters, and what actually builds strength and muscle.
• Arthritis: the joint-pain context where cryotherapy has its best-supported clinical use, alongside the other options with evidence.

The Chinese Medicine View

Chinese medicine reads cold, 寒 hán, as one of the Six External Evils, a Yin pathogen held to damage Yang Qi, to congeal and slow the movement of Qi and Blood, and to contract the channels and sinews. Exposing the whole body to air below -148°F (minus one hundred degrees Celsius) is about as extreme a Cold stimulus as one could arrange, and the tradition would not read it as neutral. The classical direction for Cold is to keep it out and to warm the body. A practice built on intense cold runs counter to that, so the tradition would approach it with care and not use it as a general tonic.

The caution is strongest around Yang. Someone with Yang deficiency, cold hands and feet, aversion to cold, a pale swollen tongue, is exactly who the tradition would steer away from repeated deep cooling, since the concern is over-cooling an already weak warming capacity. The menstrual and postpartum windows, cold-type joint pain that is worse with cold and better with warmth, and the frail or elderly fall under the same caution. There is also Wind-Cold: the tradition treats sudden exposure of an unprotected, sweaty or open body to cold as an invitation for external Cold to lodge in the channels, which maps onto the practical advice to stay dry and to protect the extremities. Someone robust who runs hot, red-faced and thirsty for cold drinks, faces the least caution. If you have a practitioner, this is a good thing to ask them about, because the answer depends on your pattern.

Cautions For This Practice

Everything to be aware of is here, in one place. This practice suits most healthy people; a few situations call for real care.

Frostbite from single sessions in three men, one needing a skin graft

A 2022 burn-center case series described three patients with frostbite after single whole-body cryotherapy sessions, which expose the body to dry air below -148°F (-100 degrees Celsius) for a few minutes. A 26-year-old man sustained a full-thickness injury requiring excision and skin grafting; a 17-year-old and a 28-year-old sustained partial-thickness injuries. The chamber temperatures are far below anything skin tolerates on contact, so moisture on the skin, jewelry, or skin resting against the coldest surfaces raises the risk. Dry skin, protected extremities, keeping moving, and staying within the recommended short exposure are the practical protections.Ellis et al., cryotherapy induced burns: a case series of three patients

Nitrogen single-person units have caused a fatal asphyxiation, unlike the air-cooled chambers

A 2023 international scoping review of whole-body cryotherapy safety identified five case reports and two randomized trials, sixteen documented adverse events in total, and judged the risks within acceptable limits when recommendations and contraindications are followed. Much of the alarming safety data comes from partial-body cryotherapy, where a person stands in a narrow bathtub cooled by vaporized liquid nitrogen with the head exposed above it, not from true whole-body cryotherapy in an air-cooled chamber, though the two are marketed as the same treatment. The reviewers flag the cryosauna's inherent risk of anoxia from direct nitrogen injection: in an enclosed single-person nitrogen unit, evaporating nitrogen can lower the oxygen concentration. A fatal asphyxiation has been reported with such a unit used unattended. An attendant, adequate ventilation, and avoiding solo use of nitrogen units are the direct protections.Legrand et al., evaluating safety risks of whole-body cryotherapy/cryostimulation (WBC): a scoping review from an international consortium

Frostbite and cold burns

The chamber runs far below anything skin tolerates on contact, and frostbite from single sessions is documented, including one case that needed a skin graft. Go in with dry skin, keep the extremities covered as the facility directs, remove metal jewelry, keep moving gently, and stay within the recommended few minutes. Damp skin and contact with the coldest surfaces are the usual setups for a burn.

Nitrogen single-person units and the asphyxiation risk

The gravest hazard is specific to single-person units cooled by vaporized liquid nitrogen, where the head sits above a narrow tub, not the air-cooled walk-in chambers. Evaporating nitrogen can push oxygen out of a small unventilated space, and a fatal asphyxiation has been reported with such a unit used unattended. If you use one of these units, an operator should be present the whole time, the space should be ventilated, and it should never be used alone.

Heart conditions and uncontrolled blood pressure

The cold sends blood pressure and heart rate up sharply on entry. Anyone with unstable angina, a recent heart attack, a serious arrhythmia, or uncontrolled hypertension should get cleared by a clinician before trying it, since the cold sharply loads the heart on entry.

Cold-sensitive conditions

Conditions that react badly to cold, such as Raynaud phenomenon and cold urticaria, can flare with whole-body cold, and the reaction can outlast the exposure. If either applies to you, this is not one to experiment with.

Fainting on standing

The blood-pressure swings can leave people lightheaded, and standing up or stepping out quickly is when fainting tends to happen. Move slowly on the way out, and if you feel faint, sit down where you are.

Pregnancy

The practice has not been studied in pregnancy, so there is no research base to lean on. Checking with your clinician first is the sensible course.

Timing around strength training

Cold applied in the few hours right after lifting can blunt the muscle and strength you just trained for, through the same anti-inflammatory effect that is otherwise the selling point. If building strength is the goal, keep the session away from that window, on a rest day, in the morning, or before you train. If recovering for a competition tomorrow matters more than long-term gains, taking the cold soon after is a fair trade to make on purpose.

Start slow, be smart, read the research, and consult a professional if you have any concerns. This is here to inform your choice, not make it for you.

Common Questions

Does whole-body cryotherapy actually speed up recovery?

The evidence is thin. A Cochrane review found only four small laboratory trials on muscle soreness after exercise, rated them very low quality, and concluded there is too little evidence to say whether the chamber helps recovery compared with rest. A few small studies show it lowering blood markers of inflammation and muscle damage after hard exercise, which is only a hint. The same-day lift in alertness and mood is more reliable and comes from the catecholamine surge the cold sets off. So it may help you feel better after a session, while the case that it meaningfully speeds tissue recovery is not yet made.

Is it better than a cold plunge or an ice bath?

Nothing shows it is. No trial has found whole-body cryotherapy beating cold-water immersion for recovery, and cold water delivers a comparable cold stress for a small fraction of the cost. Even comparing chamber types, a full walk-in chamber shows no measured edge over a cheaper partial-body unit. If recovery on a budget is the aim, cold water is the sensible starting point. The chamber offers convenience and comfort, dry cold for a couple of minutes in place of sitting in cold water. Measured results do not favor it.

Can it help with arthritis or other pain conditions?

This is where the evidence is strongest, and where the practice began. Pooling six studies of 257 rheumatoid arthritis patients, a course of cryotherapy lowered joint pain and a standard measure of disease activity, enough that the reviewers suggested it might let some people use less anti-inflammatory medication. It is used as an add-on to medical treatment, not a replacement, and the reviewers called for stronger trials with clearer protocols. If you have a rheumatic condition, this is one to discuss with the clinician managing it.

Is it safe?

For most people, with a well-run facility, the serious hazards are uncommon. The two that matter are frostbite from the extreme cold, which is documented and occasionally severe, and asphyxiation in single-person units cooled by liquid nitrogen used without an operator, which is why those units call for an attendant present the whole time. Beyond that, the cold loads the heart on entry, so a cardiac history or uncontrolled hypertension calls for clearance first, and cold-sensitive conditions like Raynaud phenomenon are reasons to avoid it. Start with a supervised session, keep the skin dry and the extremities protected, and pay attention to how you respond.

Will it help me build muscle, or could it get in the way?

It can get in the way if the timing is wrong. Cold applied soon after a hard lifting session blunts the very inflammation and anabolic signaling that grow the muscle, an effect well documented for cold-water immersion and mechanistically shared by the cold chamber. The fix is timing: keep any deliberate cold away from the few hours right after lifting, and move it to a rest day, the morning, or before you train. If getting recovered for a competition tomorrow matters more than this month's gains, taking the cold soon after is a reasonable trade to make deliberately.