What do a running newbie hoping to complete their first 5k, a weekend road warrior working on endurance and an elite athlete interested in tweaking their body to perform a cut above the rest all have in common? Not much…until now.
As more and more individuals work on creating an active lifestyle with hiking, biking, running, swimming and walking there has been a significant increase in sports related injuries. There are also top area athletes and age groupers who require some sort of attention to keep them in top performance. So where can the weekend warrior and top athletes go to get everything they need to actively recover?
Welcome CryoUSA Athletic Recovery Center!
CryoUSA is well known for their full body cryotherapy which enhances and improves athletic performance as well as accelerating the results of therapists and trainers efforts while redefining the recovery process. Their cryo units are used by numerous NBA teams like the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns just to name a few. Area NCAA football teams like TCU and SMU are also now using these units. Even world renowned running coach Alberto Salazar of the Nike Oregon Project has his athletes using cryotherapy to help with their performance.
Cryotherapy is a full body cooling process that lowers an individuals skin temperature to 30 F for 2-3mins. This is achieved by using extremely hyper-cooled air ranging from -133 F to -320 F. But don't worry! The air is not blown directly on the skin but rather surrounds the body to achieve the 30 F skin temperature.
To further enhance recovery, CryoUSA has now expanded their center to be the “one-stop shop for Athletic Recovery” by adding:
To further enhance recovery, CryoUSA has now expanded their center to be the “one-stop shop for Athletic Recovery” by adding:
This Anti-Gravity Treadmill® (Alter-G, or G-Trainer) is a revolutionary medical rehabilitation treadmill with a unique differential air pressure technology that provides accurate, safe and comfortable partial weight-bearing therapy while promoting normal gait patterns. From a personal experience, I used a G-Trainer the last month of my CIM training in 2012. I suffered minor nerve damage to my left quad that didn't allow my quad to fire correctly in the lifting phase of the run. The Dr. I went to help with the issue told me to shut it down for the month. I laughed at him and said "that's not going to happen", so I looked for the G-Trainer. I will say, although I was limited to the trainer for the last month of my training, I did use it to my advantage. I was able to get in my speed work (was able to decease body weight (BW) to 80% to focus on lift), tempos and long runs. By using my Heart Rate (HR) monitor I was able to work on a faster turnover then I normally could do on land at 100%. This allowed for faster speed workouts, tempos and a controlled 3 hour long run. Whenever the quad told me to back off, I was able to decrease the BW on-the-fly without any disturbance in my stride. On the flip side, when I felt confident enough to increase the BW; I was able to do so with no issue as well. I believe with the help of the G-Trainer, I was able to qualify for Boston with a 3:03 (not the time I was training for but I'll take it) at the CIM marathon.
For more information please read my further review of the G-Trainer here.
For more information please read my further review of the G-Trainer here.
At Kinetic Sports Therapy, a passion for their own fitness and health allows them to understand athletes of all fitness levels. Their vision is to provide a place where the whole athlete can be assessed, treated, and remain active for a lifetime. This is precisely why they partner with like-minded companies such as CryoUSA. Their mission is to educate athletes about their own training and recovery while providing the utmost professional and knowledgeable services available.
Erin Clark, LMT of Kinetic Sports Therapy.
Another modality added to the CryoUSA Athletic Recovery Center is Kinetic Sports Therapy. I had the honor of working with owner Erin Clark, LMT. She is a Crossfit level 1 instructor and trains out of Crossfit 214 in Dallas. Erin received her degree in Social Work but knew her passion was in fitness and wellness so in turn she decided to become a Licensed Massage Therapist. As a former state ranked tennis player, Erin knows a thing or two about working to keep athletes moving and injury free and she is here to help you improve in your sport with her unique therapy techniques. I say unique because I have seen many LMT and in one 30min session with Erin I felt better than in any previous 60 min session I’ve received.
making Kyle cry!!!
Erin's technique is a mixture of deep tissue, trigger point, Active Release Technique (A.R.T) and sports massage. She also does Graston but that was not in the plans for this visit.
While most massages are passive with the majority of the work being done TO you, Erin practices the unconventional approach of using body movements you specifically utilize during training, competition or work lifestyle (desk jockey's). This is why Erin sees a wide variety of clients, from runners, cyclists, and triathletes, to stay at home mom's, busy fathers and of course...crossfitters! She is able to help each individual regain mobility in the areas they need most so they can perform at their best.
Before we started, Erin asked a series of questions so she could customize her session to what I specifically needed. Just because you experience hip pain, it doesn't necessarily mean that is the source of your problem. Erin may need to work on your shoulder with some specific movements and VOILA!!! your hip impingement is gone! For my first go-around I discussed my calves and my hip/glutes as my problem areas. Since we had an abbreviated session, she worked my hips and IT bands and hit some major "crunchy" areas.
After the session, I swear I grew 2 inches. I felt SO much relief in my hips! I can't wait to go back and get a full session with Erin to break up whatever is going on in my calves and finish off what she started in my hips.
Erin’s primary goal is to getting you back on the road to recovery and keep you moving symptom free. If you're dealing with nagging injuries or simply need a good non-passive massage give Kinetic Sports Therapy a call to make your appointment.
While most massages are passive with the majority of the work being done TO you, Erin practices the unconventional approach of using body movements you specifically utilize during training, competition or work lifestyle (desk jockey's). This is why Erin sees a wide variety of clients, from runners, cyclists, and triathletes, to stay at home mom's, busy fathers and of course...crossfitters! She is able to help each individual regain mobility in the areas they need most so they can perform at their best.
Before we started, Erin asked a series of questions so she could customize her session to what I specifically needed. Just because you experience hip pain, it doesn't necessarily mean that is the source of your problem. Erin may need to work on your shoulder with some specific movements and VOILA!!! your hip impingement is gone! For my first go-around I discussed my calves and my hip/glutes as my problem areas. Since we had an abbreviated session, she worked my hips and IT bands and hit some major "crunchy" areas.
After the session, I swear I grew 2 inches. I felt SO much relief in my hips! I can't wait to go back and get a full session with Erin to break up whatever is going on in my calves and finish off what she started in my hips.
Erin’s primary goal is to getting you back on the road to recovery and keep you moving symptom free. If you're dealing with nagging injuries or simply need a good non-passive massage give Kinetic Sports Therapy a call to make your appointment.
Speed up your recovery and always be ready for what comes next.
Train Harder, Recover Faster, Perform Better.
Train Harder, Recover Faster, Perform Better.
A medical and technology company which creates a device to treat circulation-related disorders and also a key role in athlete recovery. The Normatec mimics normal physiology with its patented sequential pulse pneumatic waveform to set athletes back into play quickly.
Well enough with the hub-bub. Mark Murdock (Sports Director of CryoUSA) smiles and says "you're" going to want one of these at your house!" before we start our session. I smile back and say "we'll see." I mean really? All compression is the same! You have compression socks, shorts, sleeves, shirts and full body suits that "suppose" to enhance performance or recovery by limiting lactic acid build up in our muscles in some sort of fashion. All for the exception of the full body suit, I have these products and -eh, they do ok. So I was intrigued how this device was going to make me feel and of course how it worked.
Well we first put the boots on and each boot (picture above) covers the feet all the way up to the upper thigh. Each boot is designed with five overlapping "zones" (feet, shin, knee, mid-thigh and upper thigh) and a hose that comes from each boot that plugs into the NormaTec air pump. I am using the NormaTech MVP.
Well enough with the hub-bub. Mark Murdock (Sports Director of CryoUSA) smiles and says "you're" going to want one of these at your house!" before we start our session. I smile back and say "we'll see." I mean really? All compression is the same! You have compression socks, shorts, sleeves, shirts and full body suits that "suppose" to enhance performance or recovery by limiting lactic acid build up in our muscles in some sort of fashion. All for the exception of the full body suit, I have these products and -eh, they do ok. So I was intrigued how this device was going to make me feel and of course how it worked.
Well we first put the boots on and each boot (picture above) covers the feet all the way up to the upper thigh. Each boot is designed with five overlapping "zones" (feet, shin, knee, mid-thigh and upper thigh) and a hose that comes from each boot that plugs into the NormaTec air pump. I am using the NormaTech MVP.
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The air pump
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This session would take 30mins so Mark puts on the massage chair (pictured above) and I kick back, relax and watch ESPN while the machine does its thing.
There are seven compression settings on the NormaTec. one being the lightest compression and seven being the most compression. I used the highest setting to get the full effect for all of you ;). When the air pump was turned on, both boots filled up with air from the feet to the thigh. It kind of felt like a blood pressure cuff. To be honest, it felt pretty good but then the magic started to happen. The first zone (feet) begins to pulse and after a certain duration of time, the second zone (shin) begins to puls while the feet zone holds a steady pressure. Then the third zone (knee) begins to pulse and just when the forth zone (mid-thigh) is about to go active, the feet zone is released and the mid-thigh zone pulses. When it's time for the mid-thigh zone to hold, the shin zone releases and the fifth zone (upper thigh) pulses and the knee zone releases. As you can imagine the rest of the sequence, the mid-thigh zone releases followed by the upper thigh and finally the boot deflates. Then it starts all over again for the remainder of my time.
Now what's going on here, is that the NormaTec is improving blood flow by pushing blood from your feet all the way up to your thigh. With its unique holding phase (check out the cool graphic here) in the cycle, the blood flow does not release back down until full decompression is achieved. Resulting in increase blood flow to damaged muscles, tendons and ligaments to speed up recovery.
At the end of my 30min session, I walked around a bit and my legs have never felt as rejuvenated as they did. I was ready to go run 20 miles at that point.
This is a great device that everyone should try out for themselves. There are many benefits to compression but using the NormaTec far exceeds any garment for post recovery training or competition. There are seven compression settings on the NormaTec. one being the lightest compression and seven being the most compression. I used the highest setting to get the full effect for all of you ;). When the air pump was turned on, both boots filled up with air from the feet to the thigh. It kind of felt like a blood pressure cuff. To be honest, it felt pretty good but then the magic started to happen. The first zone (feet) begins to pulse and after a certain duration of time, the second zone (shin) begins to puls while the feet zone holds a steady pressure. Then the third zone (knee) begins to pulse and just when the forth zone (mid-thigh) is about to go active, the feet zone is released and the mid-thigh zone pulses. When it's time for the mid-thigh zone to hold, the shin zone releases and the fifth zone (upper thigh) pulses and the knee zone releases. As you can imagine the rest of the sequence, the mid-thigh zone releases followed by the upper thigh and finally the boot deflates. Then it starts all over again for the remainder of my time.
Now what's going on here, is that the NormaTec is improving blood flow by pushing blood from your feet all the way up to your thigh. With its unique holding phase (check out the cool graphic here) in the cycle, the blood flow does not release back down until full decompression is achieved. Resulting in increase blood flow to damaged muscles, tendons and ligaments to speed up recovery.
At the end of my 30min session, I walked around a bit and my legs have never felt as rejuvenated as they did. I was ready to go run 20 miles at that point.
Oxygen plays an important role in healing broken bones, soft tissue injuries and wounds, and in reducing the risk of infection. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a proven, medical treatment that can benefit patients with a variety of conditions and help speed healing. The treatment encourages the body to build new capillaries, reduce inflammation and recover from injury, surgery or chronic illness.
Well recently I had the opportunity to try out some hyperbaric oxygen therapy at Texas Sports Hyperbarics located in the same facility of CryoUSA. So what is hyberbaric therapy? Hyperbaric Therapy uses 100% oxygen (O2) while you are in a pressurized chamber. With this higher concentration of O2 reaching your blood supply, organs, injured muscles & bone tissue, damaged tendons & joints. The body's healing process is enhanced and accelerated due to this super-saturation of O2
Me in the hyperbaric chamber
What does hyberbaric oxygen feel like? On my recent visit, I had a 30 min session where I had to change into some cotton scrubs to reduce the potential of static electricity. Some how, pure 100% oxygen and static electricity doesn't sound like a good combination. You lie down on a gurney/stretcher and the bed portion is slid into a 360 degree glass chamber. Once in place, you locked in like a pirate ship in a bottle. At this point, I wondered if this is what Milla Jovovich felt like in the Fifth Element. Anyway, the hyperbaric tech picks up a phone and asks if I'm comfortable and if I want to watch a movie while the session is in progress. I opt for no video and the session starts.
You hear the oxygen being pumped into the chamber and I was experiencing ear popping (kind of like in an airplane) throughout the 30 min session. This was no problem as it was expected since the tech was kind enough to tell me about it. I simply yawned...a lot, to clear my ears. 30 mins went by very, very, very slowly. I should have watched a movie because all I could think about was Milla punching through the glass chamber and figured that would probably hurt if I did that.
At the conclusion of my session, the tech picks up the phone and said it's time for decompression. It took about 5 mins to decompress and the ears still popped every now and then. As I came out of the chamber, all felt good. The vision was a little heightened but again expected.
With the rigorous training one puts on their body to prepare for competition or simply to get to their mailbox. A critical part in training is keep your muscles strong and healthy to avoid injury. Thus you most incorporate times of rest to not over-train your muscles. If you push too hard, CryoUSA and Texas Sports Hyperbarics are available to help you and your aching muscles get back in the game by decompressing blood vessels and allowing more oxygen carrying red blood cells to the injured (strain, sprain or overuse) site with the help of hyperbaric therapy.
If you like more information, check out Texas Sports Hyperbarics site.
You hear the oxygen being pumped into the chamber and I was experiencing ear popping (kind of like in an airplane) throughout the 30 min session. This was no problem as it was expected since the tech was kind enough to tell me about it. I simply yawned...a lot, to clear my ears. 30 mins went by very, very, very slowly. I should have watched a movie because all I could think about was Milla punching through the glass chamber and figured that would probably hurt if I did that.
At the conclusion of my session, the tech picks up the phone and said it's time for decompression. It took about 5 mins to decompress and the ears still popped every now and then. As I came out of the chamber, all felt good. The vision was a little heightened but again expected.
With the rigorous training one puts on their body to prepare for competition or simply to get to their mailbox. A critical part in training is keep your muscles strong and healthy to avoid injury. Thus you most incorporate times of rest to not over-train your muscles. If you push too hard, CryoUSA and Texas Sports Hyperbarics are available to help you and your aching muscles get back in the game by decompressing blood vessels and allowing more oxygen carrying red blood cells to the injured (strain, sprain or overuse) site with the help of hyperbaric therapy.
If you like more information, check out Texas Sports Hyperbarics site.
Thank you CryoUSA for giving me the opportunity to share with others on the benefits of each modality you are offering. I look forward to using many of these services myself.
Now, CryoUSA is offering a package where you can get all of these treatments if you so choose for $200. Here is what you will get:
30min of Hyperbaric
30min of Kinetic Sports Therapy
30min of NormaTec
1 session of Full Body Cryotherapy
Give them a call if you want the full treatment (individual treatment prices can be found here.)
30min of Hyperbaric
30min of Kinetic Sports Therapy
30min of NormaTec
1 session of Full Body Cryotherapy
Give them a call if you want the full treatment (individual treatment prices can be found here.)
