GA_081816

8 | August 18, 2016 | The glencoe anchor news
glencoeanchor.com
New Trier grads open cryotherapy spa
Courtney Jacquin
Contributing Editor
Living in the Chicago
area, we’re accustomed to
the cold and usually, well,
we’re not too fond of it.
But what if the cold was
the secret to healing our
ailments all along?
Enter: cryotherapy, a
curative health treatment
involving sub-zero temperatures.
When Tom and Paige
Polakow, two health care
professionals, learned
more about the research
and health benefits around
cryotherapy, they dove
in head first and in June
opened CryoPure Spa in
Highland Park, located at
1849 Green Bay Road.
Tom, a registered nurse
in orthopedics and Paige,
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a manager of nursing
performance operation at
Northwestern Medicine,
have more than 17 years
experience combined in
health care and wellness,
always knew they wanted
to one day start a business
together. After researching
the benefits of cryotherapy,
the Lake Forest
residents and New Trier
grads knew that this was
it.
“We decided to go for it,”
Paige said. “The amount of
benefits that there are, and
us being in health care, caring
about patients and wellness,
as a whole as a wellness
facility, it seemed like
the perfect fit.”
Cryotherapy, though
long researched in Europe
and Asia, is a relatively
new phenomenon in the
United States, and one
of the biggest hurdles for
Tom and Paige has been
educating the public on
its benefits — no, it’s not
cryogenics.
CryoPure offers three
main types of cryotherapy
and recovery services:
whole-body cryotherapy,
localized cryotherapy and
compression therapy.
Whole-body cryotherapy
is the most popular and
also the most intimidating.
The user stands in a
chamber, which encloses
the entire body except for
the head, and drops the
temperature between -116
degrees and -274 degrees
Fahrenheit with nitrogen
gas. This signals to the
brain the body is “freezing,”
pushing blood to the
inner core to protect the
organs. When the body
returns to regular temperature
after a maximum
of three minutes in the
chamber, blood returns
to the rest of the body,
helping to reduce inflammation.
The process also
increases endorphins.
Research shows benefits
include reduced inflammation,
reduced joint and
muscle pain, faster athletic
recovery time, reduction
of wrinkles, tightened
skin, increased energy and
more.
“Some of the stories we
hear from our clients that
have issues they’ve been
dealing with all their life,
chronic issues — back
pain, fibromyalgia, elbow
pain — people that can’t
do things, and then they do
a few sessions, kind of get
hooked on it, and we have
people coming in saying
they can work out again,
they can sleep better,”
Tom said.
“It honestly gives you
goosebumps, and it almost
always makes us want to
cry at how much better
people feel.”
While cryotherapy isn’t
for everyone — pregnant
women, those with Raynaud’s
disease, significant
heart history or cold allergies
— it’s most beneficial
and impactful for
those with chronic pain
conditions and athletes
and those most in tune
with their bodies. Though
CryoPure will create an individualized
plan for each
client, typically a regimen
of 2-3 treatments per week
is recommended.
Tom and Paige acknowledge
cryotherapy isn’t a
cure-all for ailments, but
they’ve already seen great
results in their clients over
the past two months.
“That’s what we want,”
Paige said. “We’re just trying
to help.”
RIGHT: Lake Forest
residents and CryoPure
Spa owners Paige and
Tom Polakow.
The cryosauna, which can drop to -274 degrees
Fahrenheit, at CryoPure Spa in Highland Park. Photos
Submitted