The Coldest Business In Town

by Nicholas Johansen | Castanet Story: 146997 - Sep 2, 2015 / 10:30 am

The coldest business in Kelowna has just opened its doors.

It’s called cryotherapy, and it’s a treatment reportedly used to treat a variety of issues, including muscle soreness, arthritic pain and stress and headaches, among others.

Cryo Care, co-owned by two Kelowna residents, Taylor Saukarookoff and Devin Gibson, had its grand opening Tuesday.

They partnered with Inn from the Cold Kelowna, a community outreach program that helps homeless people, and donated their proceeds from their opening day to the program.

Gibson said the therapy taps into the body’s fight or flight response.

“Within the first 30 seconds, over 80 per cent of your body’s blood rushes to your body’s core,” he said. “There it gets filled with endorphins, enzymes, nutrients, oxygen, all the good stuff. After the treatment is over, all that blood, essentially supercharged with nutrients and all that good stuff, rushes back to your peripheral tissues brining with it a myriad of health benefits.”

Recently, a number of professional athletes have begun using the treatment to help prevent and heal injuries.

Gibson and Saukarookoff said the 2011 Dallas Mavericks used the therapy when they won their NBA championship.

In addition to personal testimonies about the therapy’s benefits, Gibson said there has been extensive scientific research into the therapy since it was first invented in 1978 in Japan to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

“Hundreds of studies,” Gibson said. “Primarily the studies have been done over in Europe.”

While the thought of stepping into a negative 150 degree chamber for up to three minutes may seem daunting, Saukarookoff said because there is no humidity in the air, the cold only affects half of a mm into your skin.

“It’s not like standing outside on a cold winter’s day,” Saukarookoff said. “You have to feel it in order to understand what I’m talking about, but it doesn’t have that sharp piercing cold.”

For a first-timer, a session costs $55. Check out Cryo Care’s website for more information.

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