What’s the difference between ice bath tub and cryotherapy chamber?
There are usually two options that come to mind when thinking of cold therapy: One is a cryochamber, the other one is an ice bath tub. But what is the difference? Which one should we choose? We’re here to help!
We emphasize the numerous benefits of cold therapy in our articles. It is very useful for competitive sports, but can also play an important role in the life of hobby sportsmen and sportswomen. You may also benefit from it if looking for mental balance, want to support your skin health more, would like to lose weight efficiently, or just simply would like to pamper your muscles after the load of everyday activities.
But once getting to the point to actually try one of the forms of cold therapy, which one is it best to choose? First, we have to define what exactly cryotherapy is.
What does cryotherapy mean?
Cryotherapy basically means spending a couple of minutes in a chamber at low temperatures. We can state it without any exaggeration that this temperature is rather low, as we’re talking about minus 85-100 degrees Celsius. This temperature can be reached by the use of liquid nitrogen, which turns the chamber’s air very cold and dry. You should not spend more than 3-4 minutes in the chamber, and although there are many benefits of using it, building a cryochamber filled with liquid nitrogen is not the first thing that pops to our minds while renovating our home, as it is also quite costly.
What are the benefits of cryotherapy?
The benefits of cryotherapy and cold water immersion in ice bath tubs are quite similar, as both offer the same:
- Supporting your immune system
- Improving your blood circulation
- Supporting your mental health
- Benefitting your skin health
- Reducing pain and swellings
- Boosting your energy
So what is the real difference between cryotherapy and cold water immersion?
While cryotherapy is about spending a short time in a cold chamber, cold water immersion is about staying in water of around 4 degrees Celsius, while maintaining the right breathing technique.
Moreover, ice bath tubs, especially those equipped with professional cooling units, have the advantage of lowering the temperatures gradually, in the case of beginners, for example. Nothing prevents you from starting at a higher temperature, and getting used to cooler water temperatures gradually.
Another advantage of cold water immersion is that water actually touches your skin, which means losing more heat. Don’t think that it appears as a bigger challenge than using a cryochamber, as getting used to immersing gradually, ice bath tubs can be a great tool to keep or restore your mental and physical health.
If you have ever researched cold therapy, you must know that it is a bit easier to do cold water immersion at home than using a cryochamber. There are inflatable, thus easily portable, yet stable ice bath tubs, which you can set up in your garden or even on your balcony. It is most useful for competitive sports, as packed up, one can easily take them to competitions, races or to training camps.
You might feel that investing in an ice bath tub and a cooling unit is not worth it solely for the reason of cold therapy, but let us tempt you with one more thing: There are also cooling units which can heat up the water as well! Think about it: How amazing would it be to mix your recovery goals and wellness-relaxation time with the help of your very own ice bath tub equipped with a cooling-heating unit!
If you’d like to learn more about ice bath tubs, or had any further questions, do not hesitate to contact us. And to read more about ice bath tubs and cold water immersion, scroll through our further articles.
