Worcester Warriors players were recently given the ultimate cool down as they received cryotherapy chamber treatment.
The treatment sees users enter an extremely cold environment for a short period of time in order to trigger physiological reflexes and defence reactions in the body that help to improve training and recovery times.
The extreme cold has an analgesic affect and also restricts players’ blood vessels. As soon as players exit the chamber, their blood vessels dilate rapidly, which pushes blood around the body and helps reduce localised inflammation associated with intense training.
Players spent up to three minutes in chambers as cold as -135 degrees Celsius at their Sixways training base as they prepare for the business end of the Aviva Premiership season.
Warriors Rehabilitation Co-ordinator Ryan Fisher said: “The players have accumulated a lot of game time this season and this treatment is another way to help them recover quickly.
“It has a similar affect to a cold tub, but a lot of players say they prefer this method as it doesn’t give them such an initial shock.
“On top of this treatment, we also give players nutritional support and devise individual training plans to prepare them for matches as well as we can.
“We look to give players as much of a competitive advantage as we can and we’ll be continuing with the cryotherapy treatment for the rest of the season.”
Warriors centre Alex Grove, who underwent the treatment for the first time, believes the process will help the players.
He added: “The cryotherapy treatment could potentially make a huge difference at this time of the season as we’ve all played a lot of rugby.
“The cold hits you as soon as you get in the chamber but it’s a small price to pay to give us an advantage.”