Cryotherapy Comes to McAllen

October 19, 2016

Along with cancer and Parkinson's exercise, near-infrared sauna, medical massage, and more

Curiosity was piqued when bold blue with black trim was painted on a storefront a few doors down from Quips & Quotes on North 10th in McAllen. It stood out in the otherwise muted-tone shopping center. That curiosity intensified when the name of the business was added: CRYO Body Perfections. Yes, cryotherapy has made its way to McAllen.

Several innovative services will be offered at CRYO Body Perfections when they open their doors in early November. One group of services involves treatments. First on the list, of course, is whole-body cryotherapy. Presently, the nearest location where someone in the Rio Grande Valley can get full-body cryotherapy is Corpus Christi. Based on a questionnaire the client completes, a protocol of treatments is recommended. Although not common, some individuals wish to undergo whole-body therapy twice in one day. This is allowed only if at least four hours have passed since the person’s first treatment that day.

Whole-body cryotherapy is performed in just 2-3 minutes in a cryosauna, with temperatures ranging from -230F to -285F. (Yes, negative 230 degrees Fahrenheit to negative 285 degrees Fahrenheit.) Males wear trunks in the cryosauna, and females cover their nipples. Both males and females wear socks and gloves, which are provided. While in the cryosauna, the person’s head is exposed, triggering the release of anti-inflammatory molecules and endorphins. Whole-body cryotherapy is used to treat pain, inflammation, depression, anxiety, hot flashes, bloating, irritable bowel syndrome, acne, migraines, fatigue, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders. In addition, whole-body cryotherapy has been shown to reduce recovery time following surgery, to lessen the effects of anesthesia if performed prior to surgery, to aid in weight loss because individuals burn between 400 and 800 calories up to six hours after the treatment, and to produce collagen, which improves skin strength and elasticity.

CRYO Body Perfections will also offer near-infrared sauna, a 20-minute treatment that releases toxins stored in tissue, increases metabolism and circulation, eases pain, and aids in cardiovascular fitness. Unlike a traditional sauna, the treatment room for near-infrared sauna is cooler, and the heat is focused on one part of the body, and the infrared lights rotate every 3-5 minutes.

Treatment with NormaTec boots and sleeves will also be available at CRYO Body Perfections. These treatments, lasting 15 minutes, speed the recovery process following athletic training, competition, and injury. Compression massage with boots and sleeves can also be used post-surgery, as long as the client has a release from the surgeon.

The fourth CRYO Body Perfections treatment involves a hydro massage bed. This innovative treatment is performed while fully clothed (and without getting wet) and allows the client to choose the intensity of the water-jet massage, the region of the body to be massaged, and the amount of time on the open-design bed.

The second group of services involves exercise, but this is not your traditional fitness club. The exercise classes offered at CRYO Body Perfections will focus on three areas, according to certified instructor Margret DeBruyn: 1) cancer exercise, 2) breast cancer exercise, and 3) Parkinson’s exercise. DeBruyn will offer private, semi-private, and group classes. Classes will begin November 14.

DeBruyn herself is a two-time cancer survivor, diagnosed with uterine cancer in her 20s and later with breast cancer. She had actually chosen to undergo an elective double mastectomy in her early 40s due to her strong family history of breast cancer; however, the surgeon soon discovered DeBruyn had precancerous cells, and the surgery turned into a potentially life-saving radical mastectomy. Due to complications from breast reconstruction, she has also endured several other surgeries.

DeBruyn is the only Pink-Ribbon-Certified instructor south of San Antonio. She is also a Certified Cancer Exercise Specialist (CES), a Certified Breast Cancer Exercise Specialist (BCES), and a PMA-Certified Pilates instructor. With these certifications, DeBruyn is qualified to work with 25 types of cancer, surgeries, and treatment and with breast reconstruction, lymphedema, and cancer pain and fatigue. “Cancer exercise” enhances physical and mental well-being, reduces feelings of depression, improves sleep, increases muscle mass, strength, and endurance, protects against common side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, improves lymphedema management, increases range of motion and flexibility, reduces cancer-related pain, nausea, and vomiting, and provides a number of other benefits.

For individuals going through treatment for breast cancer and for those who have completed treatment, DeBruyn will offer the six-week Pink Ribbon Program. Instead of receiving a pamphlet after surgery and trying to exercise on their own, individuals currently going through treatment for breast cancer and those who have completed treatment can attend this program.

“The Pink Ribbon Program supports both physical and emotional recovery after breast cancer surgery,” DeBruyn said. In this program, class members will do exercises to improve upper limb function, decrease pain, increase shoulder, chest, and back strength and range of motion, strengthen the abdominal core, and reduce the effects of lymphedema.

The third focus of DeBruyn’s exercise program will be on individuals living with Parkinson’s. Her grandmother had Parkinson’s and her mom now lives with this neurological disorder.

“My mom was a professional dancer and a dance professor,” DeBruyn said. “I worked with my mom to create multiple levels of Pilates protocol for people with Parkinson’s.” For right now, DeBruyn will offer two levels at CRYO Body Perfections.

DeBruyn is a devoted advocate of Pilates because of the difference it has made in her own life.

“I’m grateful for Pilates because it helped my body mourn the trauma it went through,” DeBruyn said. “My mentor said, ‘Have compassion for your body, for this frame that gives you life every day.’ For me, it was an important part of the process of healing. It is a mind-body connection, good for both physicality and emotionality. Cancer makes you feel like you’ve lost all power in your life. Any significant diagnosis, especially of a chronic nature, makes you feel powerless. I can help people empower themselves.”

The service that brings CRYO Body Perfections full circle is medical massage. For this, Licensed Massage Therapist Christine Jackson brings her company, Healing Arts Massage Therapy, into the mix. With over 20 years of clinical treatment experience, Jackson has earned certification in a number of forward-thinking practices, including medical massage, trigger point, frozen shoulder, cupping, prenatal massage, kinesiology taping, hot stone, myofascial release, magnetic energy, magnetic energy, Qi Gona 9 breath healing, and migraine/headache relief.

“My passion and my motivation has been to heal the afflictions of my clients,” Jackson said, “especially those dealing with chronic pain.”

Medical massage is outcome-based massage. Jackson’s clients will complete a thorough assessment that will allow her to target treatment to individual needs. (Many insurance companies now allow patients to submit claims for medical massage, if ordered by a doctor.)

Check CRYO Body Perfections’ Facebook page and Instagram account for opening day and for schedules. Cryotherapy, cancer and Parkinson’s exercise, medical massage, and much more will soon be available under one roof, in a building in North McAllen painted deep blue with black trim.

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