In October, Digital Journal reported that 24-year-old Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, a night manager at Rejuvenice, a cryotherapy spa in Nevada, had been found dead after entering the chamber after hours on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Since the tragic event, cryotherapy use has come under fire for its lack of regulation, unproven results, and overall misuse as a “trendy” health treatment touted by star athletes and Hollywood stars. Additionally, no group, except perhaps the manufacturers of the cryo-chambers, is keeping any records on adverse events or injuries linked to using the chambers.
What is cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is defined as the local or general use of cold temperatures in medical therapy. The term “cryotherapy” comes from the Greek cryo (κρύο) meaning cold, and therapy (θεραπεία) meaning cure. Cryotherapy has been used since the early 17th century. Its most prominent use has been in cryosurgery. Other therapies include whole-body cryotherapy and ice-pack therapy.
Cryosurgery, the use of extreme cold, is used to treat a number of skin conditions like warts, moles, and skin tags. Liquid nitrogen freezes the tissues at the cellular level, killing the offending skin lesions. Most of us have used ice-pack therapy at one time or another. From sprains and strains to headaches, an ice pack is used to relieve pain.
Whole-body cryotherapy
Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) was intended to be used as a treatment for patients with conditions such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, under controlled, clinical conditions. It was found that WBC was not superior to local cryotherapy commonly used in RA patients for pain relief, and there was no significant reduction in the disease process.
But cryotherapy intended for clinical therapy is a different thing altogether from how it is used today. The first WBC chamber was built in Japan in the 1970s but was not introduced to Europe until the 1980s. Believe it or not, but WBC has only been in use in America and Australia in the past 10 years.
On Sept. 29, 2015, the BBC reported on what the Cochrane research team had found out about WBC. Lead researcher Dr Joseph Costello, from Portsmouth University’s Department of Sport and Exercise Science, said: “We did an exhaustive research of the literature and found only four studies that assessed the effects of this treatment, which is amazing when you consider that sports teams are investing in it.”
The biggest concern is the lack of studies on any adverse reactions or injuries resulting from the use of WBC. “Very few studies recorded any negative or adverse effects. There was one report of an elite rugby player getting a small frost injury to the thigh,” said Costello. “But the research is lagging behind current practice.” He also added that people with heart or blood pressure problems should avoid using cryo-chambers.
As far as the case involving Ake-Salvacion’s death, the legal team investigating the incident is also looking into product liability. The investigation also brings up the problem of the lack of regulation, not only for the use of the chambers but also for a lack of regulation in the manufacture of the product.
