Piešťany Gulls Use Their Own Cryosauna for Rejuvenation

The Piešťany Gulls are one of the first sports teams in Slovakia. They are using their own cryosauna to rejuvenate their players. Since September, the club has partnered with the company Cryomed, which delivered the cryosauna to the Piešťany team.

The Piešťany Gulls basketball team has been trying to create the best possible foundation for its players and support team for a long time. In a challenging game and training program, the team is trying to pay attention to the quality of its recovery. As a result, the team’s management decided to invest in their own Cryomed One, which was delivered by Cryomed. “Our club has been trying to create the most professional conditions, and the rejuvenation of our players is a priority for us. We have only had positive experiences with cryotherapy,as we have been using the services of another operator in recent years. When we got the opportunity to have our own cryosauna directly in the Diplomat Arena, we didn’t hesitate to take it. We are sure that this step will be very beneficial,” said Bronislava Borovičková, the general manager of the Gulls.

Similarly, Michal Nagaj, the physiotherapist of the Piešťany Gulls, sees the addition of rejuvenation programs directly to the Diplomat Arena as a positive step. “From a physiotherapist’s perspective, it’s a great experience to work directly with a cryosauna in our arena, where it’s always available. The advantage is that we can better react in situations when, for example, there’s the players have increased fatigue either after a match or after a training cycle. I see this cooperation between me and the head coach as a great benefit. We always have clear rules about when we apply cryotherapy, which in turn increases the overall effect of this type of therapy,” Michal Nagaj said. Regarding the effects of cryotherapy specifically, he also said, “It causes many reactions in the body that start regenerative processes immediately after the therapy session. These processes will reduce the overall fatigue and help heal, for example, muscles over the next few hours, thereby also increasing prevention against injury. The players are thus again ready at full power, which is required in professional sports.”

What actually is cryotherapy?

Whole-body cryotherapy (from the Greek kryos, meaning cold, and therapy) is a technology that is based on the exposure of the body to extremely low temperatures (from -110 °C to -190 °C) for a period of 1 to 3 minutes.

Cryotherapy is based on the activation of natural body defenses, and is therefore  completely safe. Short-term exposure of the body does not affect internal temperatures. For cooling, liquid nitrogen is used: 3/4 of the air we breathe consists of nitrogen, so the therapy is completely safe and environmentally friendly.

One treatment takes up to 3 minutes. Cryotherapy solves several problems at the same time, and therefore the body can start the healing process on multiple levels.