Difference between nitrogen and electric cryotherapy.
If you’re reading this, you probably know about the benefits of cryotherapy. What you may not know is the difference between nitrogen and refrigeration (electric) based systems. Here is the TL:DR – electric is better. It’s at the right temperature and affects the whole body, especially the head and vegus nerve. This latter mechanism is critical for inducing a slew of beneficial systemic effects.
Due to their complexity, electric systems are more expensive than their nitrogen counterparts. However, as anyone rudimentarily exposed to finance will know – being short sighted is risky. A key difference between the two is running costs. Liquid nitrogen is expensive. Really expensive. Moreover, it needs to be used quickly fear it evaporates, off gasses to atmosphere, and is wasted. In some areas, nitrogen refueling costs can total more than $7,000 per month. Throw in a machine loan payment and overhead goes through the roof.
Ok so nitrogen machines are expensive to run and electric machines are expensive buy, but why would my clients care? Apart from the systemic effects mentioned above that happen due to how the therapy is administered (whole body vs neck down) – duration is also critical to note. This is ever more apparent when we talk about consumables like nitrogen. Maximizing session count relies on getting people in and out quickly. The standard is 3 minutes per session and was developed when the industry was in its infancy and nitrogen systems were 95% of the market.
A crucial benefit to both studio owners and most cryotherapy end-users is staffing costs. As electric cryotherapy chambers are cooled using refrigeration and not nitrogen, there is zero risk of asphyxiation during treatment. This means that clients can enjoy a private session without needing a staff member in the room with them in the nearly-nude. And as a business owner, client privacy also means lower staffing costs.
