Electric vs. Nitrogen Cryotherapy
When purchasing a cryotherapy machine the question is always asked: which is better? Electric cryotherapy chambers or nitrogen cryotherapy saunas? The arguments for both are often heated and unfortunately non-scientific. Unlike most reports on the issue we have taken the high road with a simple statement: both are good depending on what you want. Any cryotherapy will help your customers and help build your business. What really matters is what is good for your location and your budget.
The Positive News
Cryotherapy is booming and scaled to grow. Professional sports teams are now gravitating towards cryotherapy to replace ice-baths as a superior method of recovery. Individual athletes from Olympians to NBA superstar LeBron James are purchasing cryosaunas for personal use. Professional athletes and celebrities are adding cryo to their recovery routines (and Instagram postings) at an ever-increasing rate. Within the tanning industry Cryo Innovations has recent reports that 1 in 5 of new customers arrive for cryotherapy alone, and 40% of regular customers add cryo to a bundle of services. Day spas that add a cryochamber are often able to achieve a full ROI in a matter of months.
Facts vs. Fiction
The current literature available online it is awash with misleading statements from electric manufacturers:
Pure nitrogen is dangerous/toxic/poisonous (FACT: It is no more dangerous than pure oxygen, which itself can be toxic.¹ )
Nitrogen cryosaunas are not FDA approved (FACT: No electric chambers are FDA approved either)
The FDA “warned” against nitrogen but not electric (FACT: FDA warned against claiming any cryotherapy cured a disease or treated a medical condition)
No clinical studies have been done on nitrogen saunas (FACT: Click here or see footnote below for an excellent peer-reviewed study about nitrogen cryosaunas vs. electric chambers.²)
Thermal “imaging” proves that electric cryochambers are better (FACT: Thermal images are often doctored to prove a point. We’ve posted some glaring—and funny—examples below.)
These statements are not only false but intentionally misleading, all to turn a small business owner away from nitrogen cryosaunas and purchase a more expensive and costly electric cryochamber.
FAKE THERMAL READINGS:
According to the temperature legend this knee is frozen stiff to 0.0°F! Even if this were Celcius readings his skin would still be frozen solid at 32°F. With temperatures this cold the client would experience severe frostbite. Compare this image with our live FLIR thermal at the bottom of this page.
What Is Safer?
Electricity is so common in our daily lives that we overlook how it was once viewed as “unsafe” and dangerous in any form. Edison and Tesla argued over the safety differences between direct or alternating current. People believed that electricity from high-voltage power lines and electro-magnetic fields caused cancer (and some still do today). What countered these beliefs were safety solutions and education about how to use electricity safely. Because of this we can confidently change a lightbulb without fear of being electrocuted.
Both electricity and liquid nitrogen can be dangerous--very dangerous--if they are not used responsibly. The issue is more about the safety of liquid nitrogen since it is a newer method.
Electric cryo companies smear the internet with the “dangers” of nitrogen, but it really is no more dangerous than most household products. Liquid nitrogen is perfectly safe when it is used appropriately; in fact, it is so safe that human embryos are frozen in it everyday at fertility clinics worldwide. Surgical applications include using it for a plethora of procedures ranging from dermatology to prostate cancer treatments. UCLA trained physician Dr. Jonas Kuehne developed the cryofacial, sometimes nicknamed Frotox, where gaseous liquid nitrogen is safely aimed and applied directly at the face to reduce the signs of aging.
Liquid nitrogen in gasiform is so safe that small children eat ice cream at Creamistry every day, playing and running through puffy clouds of gasiform liquid nitrogen with the full authority of the health department. This simply would not be possible if it was indeed dangerous.
The Cryogenic Environment
Cryotherapy begins its work at -166°F. Electric chambers typically reach only -150°F, bordering on the cryogenic threshold. It is because of this that nitrogen cryosaunas were invented: electric chambers simply cannot get cold enough. Professional athletes, chiropractors, and clients want temperatures that are below -200°F. Adding insult to injury some electric cryo sellers create “thermal images” with clearly doctored graphics.
FAKE THERMAL READINGS:
The darker images on the right show that the black areas are 32°F degrees when compared with the thermometer, not 52°F and 56°F as indicated, which would be blue in color. If these clients are 32°F they are no longer alive. Our images on the lower right are accurate and repeatable with our FLIR thermal system. Also note the background in these pictures. Only the lower left images from Cryo Innovations show actual heat gradients from different temperatures in the room. The other three do not.
Why isn’t it FDA approved?
Cryotherapy is not FDA approved for a simple reason: it is not a medical device. For that matter neither electric nor nitrogen cryo are approved by the FDA. The claims for cryotherapy are based upon the scientific literature in peer-reviewed studies. Many experience the benefits of pain relief, faster recovery, and weight management. But cryotherapy has never been advertised to cure a disease, which would require FDA approval. This is common as ALL non-medical therapies, remedies, or supplements are also not FDA approved, including:
Undoctored FLIR Thermal Video - available in the XR for all of your clients
Massage
Vitamin C Tablets
Whey Protein
Diet pills
Baby Teething Tablets
Multi-Vitamins (or any vitamin)
Fish Oil
Mud baths
Infrared sauna
Nitrogen manufacturers are fairly reserved with negative comments about their electric colleagues. The most common criticism about electric cryo revolves around the cost of the machine and the electricity bill. Spa and gym owners may not be able to afford an electric chamber or have the space to put it. For them a nitrogen cryosauna is a better solution: it arrives plug-in ready and can be rolled anywhere. For small business owners it is simple: uncrate, roll the chamber in, attach the nitrogen, and you’re in business. With electric cryochambers you may have to hire a general contractor, electrician, and an HVAC engineer, or all three. Electric chambers require annual maintenance and are the most expensive form of cryotherapy. Energy costs are also a concern: cryosaunas plug into any standard wall outlet and use no more electricity than a television. Electric cryochambers use on average a whopping 250kWh per day and require a 220 volt plug.
Weird Science is Bad Science
Some cryotherapy companies hire non-experts (or family members) to perform “research” for them, or worse, hire a foreign company to do so. This results in inaccurate, misleading, and even dangerous statements. Cryo°Science’s website has curiously reported on their home page that their brand of cryotherapy reduces “…the surface temperature of the skin to -140°C/-220°F in order to boost blood circulation….” Unfortunately at temperatures this low the blood would freeze solid and the client would not survive. It appears that Cryo°Science at best confused the temperature of gasiform liquid nitrogen, or at worst hired a non-expert to explain a complex science to the general public.
Weird Science: Cryo°Science’s homepage. Screenshot taken 10/9/19.
Innovation from the negativity
Why is there so much negative press from the electric cryochamber manufacturers? It is our belief that nitrogen is just as effective and more affordable than electric chambers based upon our experience and peer-reviewed clinical studies. We have seen how nitrogen cryo is surpassing electric and it is obvious that they feel the pressure. Any time someone makes a better design the fading generation tries to stop it with louder and louder complaints. It is disheartening that our electric competitors will publish misleading or outright fake information simply to close a sale. It is common to even see altered thermal graphic comparison charts to show how electric systems are better. We don’t do that because we don’t need to; instead, we offer a thermal camera so clients can see the imaging in real time for themselves. Our product, our service, and our marketing is designed honestly and honesty sells itself. We want your company to grow and we will build our relationship based on facts and excellent service. That’s all you need to succeed.
Learn more about the benefits of cryotherapy, find out how you can provide cryotherapy services, and read the guide on the cryotherapy business.
Founded on facts: for peer-reviewed articles, scholarly journals, and articles cited above please see the below sources. ³
Chawla A, Lavania AK. OXYGEN TOXICITY. Med J Armed Forces India. 2001;57(2):131–133. doi:10.1016/S0377-1237(01)80133-7
Louis, J., Schaal, K., Bieuzen, F., Le Meur, Y., Filliard, J. R., Volondat, M., Hausswirth, C. (2015). Head Exposure to Cold during Whole-Body Cryostimulation: Influence on Thermal Response and Autonomic Modulation. PloS one, 10(4), e0124776. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124776