Plural of cryotherapy; medical treatments that use extreme cold to reduce inflammation, pain, or destroy tissue.
From 'cryo-' (cold) plus 'therapies' (treatments). Modern medical practice borrowed this from sports medicine and physical therapy, where ice application became formalized and systematized in the 20th century.
Ice baths for athletes are technically cryotherapy, but they're incredibly controversial—recent studies suggest icing actually slows healing by suppressing inflammation that your body needs to repair muscle!
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