The history of whole-body cryotherapy

The origins of whole-body cryotherapy date back to 1978 in Japan, when Professor Toshimo Yamauchi of Nara Medical University was the first to decide to use extremely low temperatures to treat patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). At that time, RA was a huge challenge for medicine. Patients suffered from severe pain, morning stiffness, and limited joint mobility, and the available medications were slow-acting and associated with numerous side effects. Yamauchi was looking for a method that would improve patients' quality of life quickly and safely.

He noticed that cold has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. If local cooling compresses bring relief, why not try cooling the entire body? Inspired by this question, in 1978 he developed the first systemic cryotherapy procedures.

Patients were briefly exposed to temperatures ranging from -110°C to -160°C in a special chamber. The results were surprising – reduced pain, reduced joint stiffness, and improved range of motion. The body activated its natural adaptive mechanisms: increased endorphin secretion, improved circulation, and reduced inflammation.

This is how systemic cryotherapy was born – an innovative treatment method that soon found its way to Europe. As early as the 1980s, cryochambers and cryosaunas began to be developed in Germany and Poland. Our country quickly became one of the pioneers of cryogenic therapy – research centers in Katowice, Kraków, and Poznań conducted extensive research on its effectiveness in the treatment of rheumatic diseases and rehabilitation.

In Poland, the first implementation of systemic cryotherapy took place in Katowice in 1989. Since 1998, the Juka brand has been continuously supplying the market with pioneering and reliable cryotherapy devices, combining innovative technological solutions with a dose of experience and passion for utilizing the beneficial effects of cold on the human body.

🔹 Prof. Zdzisław Zagrobelny, MD, PhD, from the Academy of Physical Education in Wrocław and a team of doctors and physiotherapists from the Central Mining Hospital in Katowice are considered pioneers in this field.

🔹 It was there that the first cryochamber in Poland and Europe (and the third in the world, after Japan and Germany) was created. Initially, it was used mainly in the treatment of rheumatic diseases and the rehabilitation of miners suffering from musculoskeletal disorders.

🔹 Subsequently, research centers in Krakow and Poznań began intensive research into the effectiveness of cryotherapy, which quickly made Poland one of the European leaders in this method.

Today, whole-body cryotherapy is not only used to support rheumatology treatment, but also as a tool in sports, rehabilitation, and regenerative medicine. The method pioneered by Yamauchi has permanently changed the approach to the treatment of pain and inflammation, opening a new chapter in medicine.

Bibliography:

Lubkowska, A. (2019). Cryotherapy: physiological considerations and applications to physical therapy. AIMS Biophysics, 6(4), 260–280.

Yamauchi, T. (1989). Whole-body cryotherapy is a method of extreme cold therapy in rheumatology. Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie, 48(Suppl 2), 145–149.

Jonak, A. (2009). The use of systemic cryotherapy in medicine and rehabilitation. Acta Bio-Optica et Informatica Medica. Biomedical Engineering 15(1), 57–62.