Recovery Treatment Part 1: It’s More Than Just a Day at the Spa.

Well, it’s been a nice month of recovery! At the start of the month, I was recovering from breakthrough Covid, which was NOT part of the plan. But this month, I also managed to schedule those recovery days into my week, eat foods that helped to promote healing, wear new recovery footwear and the best part of my month— experiencing a variety of recovery treatments. I decided to break this post up into 2 parts because there is a lot of good information here and I don’t want you to miss anything! So let’s jump right in because the month is almost over, and I saved the best for last!

I am always in awe of what we have available to us out here on the Main Line. And after touring Dr. Danielle Gray’s 4,000 square foot office in Wayne, that belief has been reaffirmed! RESTORE Health and Longevity Center is the only medically managed facility of its kind in the area. Restore HLC has the full suite of healing technologies: cryotherapy services, infrared sauna, shockwave therapy, infusion therapy, stretch and massage therapy, hyperbaric chamber, compression therapy, shockwave therapy, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy and kinesiology taping sessions. Danielle just keeps adding services to her practice. Handbags don’t do it for her- she collects the latest and greatest healing devices.

After touring the place with Danielle, it was time for my fun to begin. I have never done cryotherapy before and actually didn't know much about it before visiting RESTORE HLC. People use cryotherapy for a bunch of different reasons: to reduce stress; to improve circulation and lymphatic system drainage; to decrease inflammation; for pain management; to boost metabolism; to improve strength and joint function; to prevent disease; and the list goes on. People dealing with an acute injury might use cryo more regularly for a period of time, while others who are looking for more long term healing can use cryo several times a week for an entire year. Athletes use cryo to improve performance during training and to speed up recovery and ease the pain of sore muscles after an event.

Whole body cryo involves stepping into a chamber (your head is peaking out) that uses liquid nitrogen to expose the body to ultra low temperatures for up to 3 minutes. What happens while in there? Your skin surface temperature drops significantly to effectively stimulate a response from your body. Your core body temperature stays the same.

To prepare, I had to strip down to my birthday suit. I had to remove all jewelry. You do not want anything touching your skin when you are in the chamber. I had to put on gloves, socks and clogs to protect my extremities. I entered the chamber. The door was closed. The floor was raised. I disrobed and handed it off to Danielle. I was met with the cold gas from the floor which began to rise up through the chamber as I stood there. I could move around, turn around, dance, hang out, whatever, for the 3 minutes that I was in the chamber. I immediately felt cold and while it wasn’t awful, as time went on, it wasn’t pleasant either. My body felt chilled and my skin felt tingly, especially my legs. Danielle and I were chatting so the time went by pretty fast, although I was counting down the last 30 seconds.

Do I look cold?

So what did I feel immediately following my cryotherapy session? Well for starters, I felt invigorated, relaxed, somewhat euphoric. But, the biggest change I noticed was with my hips. Since I have been running more regularly this month, my hips always have this dull soreness and tightness. When I left the chamber, got dressed and assessed how I was feeling, I immediately noticed a lightness in my legs. And my hip tightness was gone! Yep, gone! It was pretty amazing. Now these feelings aren’t long lasting and the real benefits require more sessions, but it was awesome to see the immediate results of the therapy. I didn’t have time to run later than afternoon, but I was still feeling light in my legs and hips when I ran the following morning!

There have been some mixed opinions about cryotherapy (the safety, the effectiveness, etc.). But like anything else, do your research and consult your doctor. I found it to be pretty darn cool (no pun intended. Well, maybe the pun was intended) and did feel some positive healing and immediate effects from it. Enough that I would definitely go back for more.

After cryo, I had about 20 minutes for some compression therapy. Like the Normatec compression boots that I have used and enjoyed, Danielle offers leg compression therapy. But her compression device is a suit that extends up the waist, offering full leg and hip therapy. Compression therapy is a tight hug that stimulates blood and lymph circulation to release toxins, improve oxygenation of body cells and prevent cellulite and water retention. It also just feels really good on sore leg muscles. For me, I liked the fact that my hips could experience the compression therapy and I even felt some nice lower back massaging. 20-40 minutes in the suit is recommended and the therapy goes through inflating and deflating, squeezing your feet, working up the ankles, legs, hips and lower back. While in the suit, you can just chill out. Again, an awesome benefit for a mom who has been home with three kids all summer.

Danielle has so much to offer that I wish I had more time. I will be returning, for sure. There are tons of payment options and a great special for 2 therapies in one day for $50. Danielle is so knowledgeable and passionate about holistic healing. Her staff was very helpful. I highly recommend RESTORE in Wayne if you are looking for healing relief or prevention. (Restore HLC is not associated with Restore Hyper Wellness in Paoli).