Most people might feel trepidation about spending a few minutes in temperatures more than 200 degrees below zero, but not Tara Homan.
The Westfield resident jumped at the chance to try cryotherapy when she learned about it, as she had been taking “brutal” 20-minute ice baths to recover after an intense workout.
She hasn’t looked back.
“An ice bath is much worse,” said Homan, who teaches fitness classes, rock climbs, completes workouts on her own and helps care for a paralyzed family member.
Homan uses the cryotherapy tank and other services available at Recovery Room, which has a location in Westfield and a recently renovated space near the Carmel/Westfield border and will soon open one in Noblesville. Owner Konnie Komarovsky described Recovery Room as a “sports spa” designed for people who are “beating themselves up from whatever they’re doing.”
“It’s a matter of how much time do you want to spend feeling beat up? You can run a 5K and spend four days feeling beat up, or you can spend a day and a half (after using Recovery Room services),” he said. “How much is that worth to you? That’s really what people pay for.”
Recovery Room offerings include NormaTec boots, which use pneumatic compression to push excess fluid out of tight muscles; float pods that lead to feelings of weightlessness and take pressure off of joints; and cryotherapy, which exposes the whole body to temperatures as low as -220 degrees Fahrenheit to reduce inflammation. Komarovsky understands that willingly enduring beyond frigid temperatures doesn’t make sense to a lot of people – and that’s OK.
“We give people permission to think this is weird,” he said. “The thing we always tell people is, ‘If you’re not nervous, then something may be wrong with you.’ It’s perfectly OK to be nervous and still be curious enough to try this.”
Homan said a combination of cryotherapy and the NormaTec boots have made a huge difference in her recovery. She had spent two years trying to treat plantar fasciitis, but after three months using Recovery Room services the pain was gone in three months.
Homan has started bringing her 12-year-old son, a rock climber, to Recovery Room for cryotherapy sessions. Clients include everyone from students to professional athletes, and the staff works hard to get to know them.
“The people who appreciate us most are the people who push themselves hardest,” Komarovsky said.
Recovery Room isn’t the only place to try cryotherapy in central Indiana, but Komarovsky said it’s unique in its pricing structure. Clients pay $69.99 per month for a year to have access to all of Recovery Room’s services. Single-day passes are $39.99 and include all services. Elsewhere, a single cryotherapy treatment can cost $50 or more.
“We have committed the most in terms of equipment and availability and nicer things,” Komarovsky said. “And we charge the least.”
Melissa Reyes, Carmel facility manager for Recovery Room, encourages anyone curious about cryotherapy or faster recovery to give it a try because she’s seen it make a difference in many of her customers’ lives.
“There’s a psychological aspect of doing something nice for yourself and treating yourself that our customers don’t necessarily think about, but if you do something positive for your body you’re putting yourself in a position to have a better day than you were going to have before,” Reyes said. “I think people who are remotely curious about having something like that in their life need to give it a shot.”
