Whole Body Cryotherapy, a treatment athletes and recovery specialists have relied on for years.

After a long break from exercise, many of our clients tell us the same story: the excitement to move again is real, but so is the muscle soreness that follows.

Within just a few sessions back at the gym, everything aches. Legs protest every staircase, shoulders feel tight, and even stretching becomes a workout in itself.

That’s usually when they turn to Whole Body Cryotherapy, a treatment athletes and recovery specialists have relied on for years. And time and time again, our clients are amazed by the results.

The hype around the benefits of cryotherapy for recovery isn’t just talk; it’s something they can genuinely feel after a session.

What Exactly Is Cryotherapy?

Stepping into a cryotherapy chamber is an experience unlike any other. The cold air turns crisp, almost electric, as the chamber drops to extremely cold temperatures around -120°C ,or just a few minutes, your body is immersed in the extreme cold, triggering a powerful physiological response that wakes up every system inside you. Blood rushes from your extremities to protect your core, your circulation sharpens, and your sympathetic nervous system lights up. You feel alert, alive, and strangely calm, like your entire body just hit the reset button.

Then, as you step back into room temperature, warmth floods through you again. Your muscle temperature begins to rise, blood vessels open, and oxygen-rich blood surges back through your body, and that tired, heavy feeling you had before? Gone.

That’s the beauty of Whole Body Cryotherapy, it’s not just cold for the sake of being cold. This form of cold therapy is a scientifically engineered process, a modern medical treatment that works with your body’s natural systems to reduce inflammation, enhance recovery, and leave you feeling recharged from the inside out.

The Science Behind Cryotherapy Treatments and Recovery

So, what’s really happening inside your body during a cryotherapy session, and why does it make you feel so good afterwards?

When you’re exposed to very cold temperatures, your body immediately goes into protective mode. Blood vessels constrict (vasoconstriction), redirecting blood away from your skin and extremities toward your vital organs. This helps preserve core temperature and oxygen supply where it’s needed most.

Then, as you step out of the chamber and begin to warm up, the opposite happens: your blood vessels rapidly dilate (vasodilation). This creates a powerful surge of oxygen-rich, nutrient-dense blood flowing back to your muscles and tissues, a process that’s been shown to reduce muscle soreness after intense exercise and help the body recover faster.

That sudden circulation boost helps to:

  • Flush out metabolic waste such as lactic acid, which builds up during intense exercise and causes soreness.
  • Deliver fresh oxygen and nutrients to the skeletal muscle fibres, accelerating the repair and rebuilding process.
  • Reduce inflammation by lowering cytokine activity, the chemical messengers responsible for swelling and pain.

 

In essence, cryotherapy acts as a reset button for your recovery system. It mimics the body’s natural healing process but compresses it into just a few minutes.

This is why so many athletes, from runners and boxers to dancers and strength trainers, rely on it to bounce back faster. Regular sessions can reduce DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness), improve joint function, and even enhance overall mobility.

But it’s not only for elite performers. At Soma House, we see people from all walks of life benefiting from cryotherapy, those recovering from a tough gym session, managing chronic inflammation, supporting recovery from certain medical conditions, or simply wanting to move and feel better every day.

What’s fascinating is that the benefits extend beyond muscles alone. The cold exposure also influences the nervous system, helping to lower stress hormones and promote a sense of calm clarity post-session. These anti-inflammatory effects can even have positive results for certain skin conditions, supporting overall recovery both inside and out.

The Top Benefits of Cryotherapy for Recovery

At Soma House, we see it all the time: people walk in feeling stiff, sore, or slowed down after training, and walk out feeling lighter, looser, and completely recharged. Cryotherapy treatment has become one of our most popular recovery treatments for a reason: it helps your body bounce back faster, whether you’re nursing an injury, fighting fatigue, or just want to feel your best again.

Here’s how it works its magic:

1. Reduces Inflammation Naturally

Inflammation is your body’s way of protecting itself, but when it lingers too long, it can slow down recovery and cause stiffness or pain. Cryotherapy tackles this head-on. The intense cold signals your body to reduce the production of inflammatory markers, helping ease muscle soreness and joint tension. Many clients notice that post-workout aches or old injuries feel calmer and less aggravated after a session, like hitting a “mute” button on inflammation.

2. Boosts Circulation and Speeds Up Detoxification

As your body rewarms after treatment, your blood vessels dilate rapidly, creating a rush of oxygen-rich blood that flushes out lactic acid and toxins built up during exercise. This improved circulation not only supports faster recovery for your muscles but also enhances overall vitality. Your body quite literally feels cleaner, lighter, and recharged from within.

3. Accelerates Muscle and Injury Repair

Cryotherapy doesn’t just relieve pain; it helps your body heal smarter. The increase in blood flow and oxygen delivery promotes faster repair of damaged or abnormal tissue, ligaments, and tendons, making it a valuable recovery tool to treat injuries such as strains, sprains, or overuse damage. Regular sessions can help reduce swelling, prevent further inflammation, and support long-term joint health, making cryotherapy a powerful recovery method for anyone managing sports injuries or aiming to stay active and injury-free.

4. Elevates Mood, Energy and Mental Health

After a session, it’s not just your muscles that feel revived, your mind does too. Cold exposure activates the release of endorphins and norepinephrine, those natural “feel-good” chemicals that lift your mood, sharpen focus, and boost energy. Regular cryotherapy sessions can have a positive impact on overall mental health, helping reduce stress and anxiety while improving clarity and resilience. Many clients describe stepping out of the cryo-chamber feeling calm, clear-headed, and ready to take on the rest of their day.

5. Promotes Restful Sleep and Deep Recovery

One of the most underrated benefits of cryotherapy is how it supports rest and recovery long after you’ve left the chamber. The combination of reduced inflammation and endorphin release helps your body unwind naturally, improving sleep quality. Many at Soma House report drifting into deeper, more restorative sleep after an evening session, waking up feeling refreshed, rebalanced, and ready to move again.

Who Can Benefit from Full Body Cryotherapy?

At Soma House, we see people from every background using cryotherapy to support their recovery, not just professional athletes. Whether you train hard, work long hours on your feet, or simply want your body to feel its best, cryotherapy can help you bounce back faster and move with more ease.

Recovery looks different for everyone. For some, it’s about easing muscle pain after a heavy workout; for others, it’s about soothing chronic tension, calming inflammation, or finding pain relief from chronic pain and old injuries that never quite settled. The cold exposure works on a deep physiological level, helping your body repair, restore, and rebalance.

Here are just a few ways people use cryotherapy as part of their recovery routine:

  • Post-exercise recovery: Reduces muscle soreness, accelerates healing, and helps you get back to training sooner.
  • Injury rehabilitation: Decreases swelling and pain while promoting faster tissue repair for strains, sprains, and overuse injuries.
  • Chronic inflammation relief: Supports long-term joint health and mobility by calming inflammatory responses in the body.
  • Everyday recovery: Ideal for those who sit at a desk all day, deal with stress, or simply want to feel re-energised and refreshed.

Whether you’re a marathon runner, a weekend gym-goer, or simply someone looking to recover better, cryotherapy offers a powerful, natural way to help your body reset and feel renewed. Unlike ice baths/cold water immersion, which can feel painfully cold and require long immersion times, cryotherapy delivers the same and often greater benefits in a fraction of the time.

You get all the recovery advantages without the discomfort, making it the smarter, more efficient alternative for modern recovery.

Ready to Experience the Benefits of Cryotherapy for Recovery?

If your body’s feeling tired, heavy, or simply in need of a reset, cryotherapy could be the missing link in your recovery routine. In just a few minutes, the cold does what hours of rest or stretching often can’t it helps your body release tension, reduce inflammation, and recharge at a cellular level.

At Soma House,  our whole body cryotherapy chamber is designed to deliver that recovery boost safely and effectively. Each session is guided by our expert team, so you can relax knowing you’re in professional hands, whether you’re training hard, managing an injury, or just taking care of your long-term wellbeing.

Clients often describe walking out of a session feeling lighter, clearer, and ready to move again, like their body just got the reboot it needed.

So if you’re ready to recover smarter, feel stronger, and experience what true restoration feels like, step into the cold at Soma House. Because sometimes, the best way to heat up your performance is to cool down first.