An evaluation of the benefits of whole body cryotherapy treatment for sports recovery and injury repair

Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) is an evolving means of promoting recovery from strenuous exercise training, therefore potentially facilitating enhanced training loads and sports performance. This method involves the exposure of participants to extremely cold temperatures, typically lower than -100°C, for a few minutes. Whilst some benefits have been reported in the literature (e.g. alleviation of muscle soreness and inflammation, faster recovery of muscle torque, enhanced subsequent blood flow), three research questions are of particular interest. Firstly, it would be useful to determine whether the timing of cryotherapy treatment affects the response – i.e. at what stage of recovery from exercise can WBC still confer benefits. Secondly, it is not clear whether WBC is actually a superior recovery treatment in comparison to the more commonly adopted practice of cold water immersions. Finally, an extensive study shall be arranged that aims to address whether long term and repetitive treatments of WBC can detriment chronic adaptations to training. Another potential rationale for utilising WBC is for accelerated repair of soft tissue injuries (e.g. ankle sprains) and this is a research area that is very much in its infancy. Utilising the Chris Moody Rehabilitation Centre at Moulton, it is anticipated that the proposed studies shall employ a variety of physiological measurements and that the findings from such studies can inform optimum practices for WBC treatment, as well as validating the potential benefits.