east valley
Volume 2 Issue 01 Mesa, AZ
July 21, 2019
Cryotherapy facility aims to put aches, pain on ice BY LEE SHAPPELL Tribune Contributor
K
IN THE BIZ
evin Freeland opened the door of the chamber and a rush of vapor poured out. It looked like something from the lab in a sci-fi movie. “People are skeptical when they first hear about it,” said Freeland, 55, of Chandler. “Some people are just downright terrified of it.” It’s cryotherapy, a three-minute treatment at 220 to 230 degrees below zero, from the collarbone down, in a liquid-nitrogen-infused chamber. In May, Freeland opened Cryo Tempe, the first cryotherapy facility in the area. As the vapor began to dissipate, into the chamber stepped Judi Achore, 56, of Chandler. This was her third cryotherapy treatment. A recreational tennis player, she has trained with Freeland for years at his Body Focus Fitness & Performance gym. When Achore began discussing cryotherapy with Freeland, she first thought he said minus-20. “I said, ‘No, it’s minus-220,’” Freeland said. “She’s like, ‘What?’” “I wasn’t terrified, but concerned,” Achore said. “But I was curious enough that I said, ‘Let’s do it.’ And I saw somebody do it. I thought that was nothing. It helped a lot to see somebody else and to know that it’s only three minutes.” Freeland, who holds a microbiology degree from the University of Arizona, agrees that it is helpful for potential cryotherapy clients to watch a treatment bePublic Notices ............... page 2 © Copyright, 2019 East Valley Tribune
fore trying one. “When you see somebody in there and they’re not screaming in terror or pain, then it’s not that bad,” he said. “When you sit down and go over the benefits of it, most are willing to at least give it a shot. “And a lot of people come in actually looking for it. It’s growing. They’ve heard about it and we’re the only one in this part of town.” Single treatments are $50. Freeland also offers an array of packages and memberships that include multiple treatments. “The frequency that you do this depends on what you are trying to Judi Achore, 56, of Chandler, prepares for her third cryotherapy session at minus-220 achieve,” he said. degrees at Cryo Tempe. (Lee Shappell/Tribune Contributor) A 2017 review of The skin’s exposure to subzero temstudies on athletes in the International peratures triggers the release of antiJournal of Sports Medicine suggests that inflammatory molecules and endorphins cryotherapy can be effective in reducing and increases oxygen circulation in the muscle pain, inflammation and cell dambloodstream. age. Research has also suggested that athFreeland said many of his cryo clients letes may recover more quickly when they are athletes using the treatment to recovuse cryotherapy. (USPS 004-616) is published weekly
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