With games coming thick and fast in the Skrill Premier the Barnet FC first-team took a trip to the Cryotherapy Clinic at The Garden Hospital in Hendon.
The Bees have won five on the spin and one of their secrets to success might not be so secret after all.
Speaking to BarnetFC.com, Iain Casey, the owner of Cryo Clinics, explained the benefits of Cryotherapy whilst explaining its development through sport.
“The origins of Cryotherapy originated in the late 70s by a Japanese doctor who looked at the effects on people suffering from arthritis and other chronic inflammatory conditions.
“From there the Germans and Poles really embraced it and did a lot of research through the 80s & 90s and by all accounts it was very effective at treating these people. It doesn’t cure them but it was their body’s response to the extreme cold that brought about and demonstrated the benefits.
He continued: “From looking at that sports doctors and medics started looking at Cryotherapy as a recovery tool and in particular how the body responds to the short bursts of extreme cold that kick off a systemic response that puts the body into shock.”
“All the blood is taken away from the periphery to the core and whilst it’s in the core you get a vital fight-like response. There is a release of hormones into the blood because it isn’t trying to feed the whole body and it is far more efficiently oxygenated. When you step out of the chamber the blood is far more nutrient rich, oxygen rich and hormone rich and it is flooded throughout the entire body.”
Knocks and niggles are a physiotherapist’s nightmare but Casey explains how by incorporating Cryotherapy into your programme you can help enhance recovery and sometimes avoid injuries altogether.
“We really see the effects when the team have a quick turnaround in games because it helps them recover quicker and helps heal muscle damage which is a natural by-product of intensive training sessions or matches.
“Over the course of the season the players are going to pick up injuries and niggles but it is about how you manage those little injuries,” explains Casey.
“The more muscle fatigue they have the more likely they are to suffer serious injuries so by incorporating Cryotherapy into your programme you help the players avoid that.”
According to Casey the process of Cryotherapy allows athletes to prevent fatigue induced injury and recover up to two or three weeks quicker than the projected timeframe.
“Ice baths have been significantly used in the past but the evidence would suggest that Cryotherapy is more effective in helping the athletes recover from matches whilst preventing fatigue induced injuries.
“It also benefits injured players by accelerating their recovery and getting them back on the pitch up to two or three weeks ahead of schedule depending on the nature of the injury.”
For more information on CryoClinics please call 0203 651 1488 or email iain@cryoclinics.co.uk.
Check out videos of the visit by clicking here.
