The 'miracle cure': Kiwi athletes turn to Cryotherapy

It's been hailed by the likes of LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo as a 'miracle cure'.

And now Kiwi athletes can get on board with Cryotherapy finally hitting New Zealand shores.

Using extreme temperatures as low as -170 degrees to tackle inflammation and pain, Cryotherapy claims to reduce stress, increase endorphins and help with injury recovery.

"It feels like a really cold winter morning in New Zealand if you had no clothes on outside," Warriors five-eighth Blake Green says from inside the cryotherapy sauna.

Green is a regular to the North Shore's Cryo Health Solutions clinic – the only clinic which currently offers the service on the North Island.

Using both whole body and localised cryotherapy to assist with recovery during the rugby league season, Green says enduring the few minutes of extreme cold is worth it.

"It's not too bad, it's just cold," he says. "It sounds quite extreme, it's not quite like an ice bath but it can get pretty chilly."

"I love it ... I feel like I get a fair bit of benefit out of. It's good for your immune system, good to do first thing in the morning to help rejuvenate the body."

Despite the recent craze, cryotherapy isn't new to the world of sport.

First developed more than 40 years ago by a Japanese doctor as a therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis sufferers, full-body cryotherapy moved to Europe soon after where athletes found a preference for the technology over traditional ice baths.

Physical Therapy Professional Jill Somerville says it works by first activating thermoreceptors of the skin before promoting the body to release key enzymes and proteins for anti-inflammation.

"The thermoreceptors on their skin send a message to the brain, the brain then puts you into survival mode and contracts all the small blood vessels in your arms and legs," Somerville explains. "It goes to your core to protect the organs. While it's at your core, it's being fully oxygenated, pumped with enzymes.

"When you come out of the sauna and your body hits room temperature, all of those vessels that have contracted start to dilate four to five times their size and all of that oxygen-rich blood gets pumped through your system."

Somerville says it's proven a huge hit with athletes from every level looking to assist recovery.

"They're always dealing with pain and inflammation from the amount of stress that happens on their body," she says, "It helps with pain levels, circulations, decreases inflammation, so for athletes, it's huge when it comes to recovery."

Cryo Health Solutions offers all three cryotherapy treatments - whole body, localised and cryofacial therapy.