Cryotherapy in Miami: Three Minutes of Cold, and What the Evidence Actually Says

No. No whole body cryotherapy device has been cleared or approved by the FDA to treat any medical condition, and the agency has said so publicly. When the FDA reviewed the published scientific literature it reported finding very little evidence that whole body cryotherapy is effective for the things it gets marketed for. We put this at the top of our own service page because you should hear it from us rather than find it afterward.

Because a three-minute cold exposure is something a lot of people genuinely enjoy and find alerting, and because the honest version of this service is short, supervised and clear about what it is not. We sell three minutes in a cabin with an operator present. We do not sell a health outcome.

No. Whole body cryotherapy is not a fat reduction treatment and it is not a skin tightening treatment. You may be thinking of cryolipolysis, which is a completely different technology that applies controlled cooling to a specific area of tissue through an applicator, not a cabin you stand in. If fat reduction or skin laxity is what you are after, those are different services and we will point you to them instead of selling you cold air.

Frostbite and cold burns, most often on skin that was wet or in contact with metal. Eye injury from cold exposure. Temporary numbness, tingling, redness and irritation. In systems cooled with liquid nitrogen, the nitrogen can displace oxygen in an enclosed room, which is the reason the operator stays in contact with you for the entire exposure and the reason you are never in the cabin alone. These are documented risks, not theoretical ones.

Not while incisions are open or still closing, and not at all without written clearance from the surgeon who operated on you. Cold exposure over healing tissue, over grafted fat, or on a body that is still inflamed is not a neutral event. In practice, patients are usually cleared for the hyperbaric chamber well before they are cleared for cold. If your surgeon has not authorised it, the answer here is no, regardless of what you booked.

Do not do whole body cryotherapy if you are pregnant, have uncontrolled high blood pressure, significant cardiac or vascular disease, Raynaud phenomenon, cold urticaria or another cold allergy, peripheral neuropathy, or open or unhealed wounds. Tell us about any circulation problem, any nerve condition, any recent surgery and all your medications at intake. If you are unsure, the answer is to ask your physician before booking, not to try it and see.

Cold, intense, and short. Dry cold air for about three minutes, with protection on hands, feet and ears, and you talk with the operator the whole time. It is not comfortable and it is not supposed to be. Most people describe the minute after stepping out as a rush of alertness. If you genuinely dislike cold, say so when you book, because the wellness circuit runs perfectly well without it.

Because the risk of cold injury climbs with exposure time and there is no evidence that longer is better. Short, supervised and protected is the only configuration we are willing to run. Any facility willing to leave you in longer or leave you alone is trading your safety for a perception of value.

Arrive with dry skin and no lotions or oils, because moisture on skin is where cold burns happen. Remove all jewellery and metal. Wear or bring dry underwear you can move in; we provide the protection for hands, feet and ears. If you have been drinking alcohol, we will reschedule you.

Yes, and it is also the short middle block of our 45-minute wellness and recovery circuit alongside the hyperbaric chamber and LED therapy. Post-operative patients often end up doing the circuit without the cold block for several weeks, then adding it once their surgeon clears it.