Maana Wellness
Written by Shilpa Sunny. Reviewed for clinical accuracy by Jasmal K.
Cryotherapy gets marketed for two very different jobs: making you feel less sore after training, and shrinking fat cells for body contouring. The evidence behind those two claims is not the same, and it’s worth knowing which one applies before you book a session expecting the other.
Two Different Claims, One Word
“Cryotherapy” covers both whole-body cold exposure (used for recovery) and localised cryotherapy (targeted cold applied to a specific area, often marketed for contouring). At Maana Wellness, we use localised cryotherapy as one component of a three-part body toning program — not as a standalone fat-reduction treatment, and not the same claim as “fat freezing” devices you may have seen marketed elsewhere.
What the Recovery Research Actually Shows
A meta-analysis pooling 27 studies on post-exercise cooling found a significant reduction in delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) at 24, 48, and 96 hours — a real, repeatedly documented effect. The same analysis found no significant effect on objective recovery markers over that period. In plain terms: cold exposure reliably makes you feel less sore, but the pooled evidence doesn’t show it measurably speeds up the underlying biological recovery process.
That’s the recovery literature. Body contouring is a separate question, and it’s one we’re honest about not overselling: localised cryotherapy in our program works alongside ESWT and EMS as part of a combined mechanical approach to targeted shaping, not as an independently-proven fat-loss technology on its own.
Where This Fits at Maana Wellness
Our Aesthetic & Body program combines ESWT, localised cryotherapy, and EMS specifically because no single one of the three carries the full claim on its own — the combination is the mechanism, delivered by physiotherapists rather than as a purely cosmetic treatment. It’s a body toning and shaping program, not a weight-loss treatment; if weight loss is the primary goal, our Acceptance-based Behavioral Therapy + EMS program is built for that instead.
Read the full evidence review on cryotherapy and recovery →
Our Body Toning & Shaping program is available at our Kochi, Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram locations — a physiotherapist-led consultation will confirm whether it’s the right fit for your goals.