Local electrophysiologist explains real-life health benefits of cryotherapy

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - According to Alejandro Velasquez, the science behind cryotherapy is that we expose your body to ultra-low temperatures using nitrogen .

He provides cryotherapy treatments at his facility in east Memphis. He says it was designed by the Japanese in the 1970s to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis by exposing the body to negative 200 plus degrees Fahrenheit for small increments of time.

Ever since, healthcare professionals and specialists have found new uses for the treatment to improve the body’s performance and, for many athletes, recovery time.

But, Cryotherapy does more than just make you feel good. There are very real uses for it in the medical world.

Dr. Eric E. Johnson of Stern Cardiovasulcar explains that at Stern, they use cryotherapy for atrial fibrillation.