MOUNTAIN LIFE - Blue Mountains | Winter 2019

WINTER 2019 ML BLUE 47 ten minutes does the trick. To put that into perspective, 6°C is the average water temperature of Georgian Bay in November. The trick? Coaxing your body into believing you’re freezing to death. In a nutshell, hypothermia puts you into survival mode, activating fight- or-flight biological mechanisms pulling blood from the extremities of the body into the core to protect vital organs. The body oxygenates and sends nutrients into the blood. When the body returns to a normal temperature, that nutrient-rich, oxygenated blood is recirculated, helping to repair damaged tissue, accelerating recovery and rehabilitation. But no one can agree on the science. Tests claiming to prove cryotherapy can do everything from burning upwards of 800 calories in a few minutes, to improving the look of skin, are disputed. A 2015 study from the Cochrane Database—the standard in healthcare analysis—found after pooling results from four previous cryo-based tests involving 64 physically active adults, there was insufficient evidence to suggest cryo relieved muscle soreness. Dr. Nick Centritto is an evidence-based chiropractor based out of Owen Sound who specializes in sports rehab and movement assessment. He agrees the public opinion surrounding cryo is misleading to say the least. “If we’re just going to expose you to a bunch of cold, the limiting factor is how long can you be in there before you actually get either skin or nerve tissue damage… after you get out, it’s called an excessive reperfusion so all the blood rushes back [to the body] in excess of what it was before, and any kind of healing factors are going to be brought by blood. If we’re just talking anecdotally—all these people in Nordic countries being so healthy and jumping into freezing water—it’s gotta do something.” So if the science of cryotherapy is disputed, why do athletes swear by it? It’s got a lot to do with the psychological effects of the cold. Think about jumping out of a hot tub and into the snow—that rush of energy is the stuff placebo-effect miracles are made of. “Psychologically, perceived muscle fatigue and tenderness and pain was significantly reduced after cryotherapy. It’s better than heat or passive recovery,” Centritto adds. “Physiologically, there’s some evidence to support increased mobilization of leukocytes or white blood cells going to the muscle which facilitate anti-inflammatory pathways.” Is it going to make you feel better to drop $60-$100 on a whole-body cryotherapy session after a ski trip? Maybe, yeah—but probably not in the ways you think. Is taking a polar dip after a hard workout going to accomplish the same thing? Yes: you’ll feel great. Provided you’re not badly injured, the gold standard for muscle recovery after hard exercise will always be active recovery—i.e., a low-intensity workout after your workout. To us, that means seeking out a few green runs before going for another hard lap. If the science of cryotherapy is disputed, why do athletes swear by it? www.copperblues.com 705.446.2643 Lunch Dinner Martinis Cocktails Vintage Wine Premier Dining in Blue Mountain Village