I picked up a few samples of this stuff called Cryogel from some merchandise table at the NAGA Championships. It’s basically a soothing agent for sore muscles like iceyhot or tiger balm. Cryogel is a “Natural coolant Gel with Arnica” (That’s what the sample says).
Arnica is currently used in liniment and ointment preparations used for strains, sprains, and bruises. Commercial arnica preparations are frequently used by professional athletes. The thymol derivatives concentrated in the plants roots have been clinically shown to be effective vasodialators of subcutaneous blood capillaries. Arnica preparations used topically have been demonstrated to act as a anti-inflammatory and assist normal healing processes by facilitating transport of blood and fluid accumulations through a dialating action of subcutaneous blood capillaries. If ingested internally, the toxin helenalin produces severe gastroenteritis, and internal bleeding of the digestive tract if enough material is ingested. (Wikipedia)
Now, I’ve always been a big fan of iceyhot but things may change after using Cryogel. I put some on my lower back and it feels like a constant cool effect that iceyhot gives but it’s much more soothing. The lady at the merchandise table described the product as iceyhot with crack which was pretty accurate. Now the only downfall to this product is, it only lasts about half an hour then the crack goodness feeling starts fading away quick. Bottom line: It feels a lot better than IceyHot and Tiger Balm but it’s length of effectiveness is a lot shorter.
You can pick these up at their website for about 10 bucks, but I actually found an ebay store that sells them cheaper. I would recommend just picking up one tube off their website just to try it and then if you like it head to this ebay store to pick up more tubes. The eBay store I found has cryogel tubes by lots of 3 for $28.50 with Free Shipping, so you save a few bucks.
Pros
- No sticky residue, just dries off like gel
- More soothing than IceyHot
- “Rampage loves it” – Merchandise Lady from some fight wear company (she gave me the sample)
Cons
- More expensive
- Not easily accessible as IceyHot
- Length of effectiveness: about half an hour of goodness
August 6th, 2008 at 4:56 am
Thank you for the nice article on the Cryogel. It’s a fantastic product! I am the owner of http://www.thenaturalremedyonline.com, as well as the owner of the Ebay Store The Natural Remedy, which you included a nice link to in your article. Cryogel does sponser UFC fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, as well as Karo Parisyan. Anyway, thank you again! Cryogel….IcyHot with Crack….that’s a good one! Sincerely, Stacey
August 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Stacey,
Thank you for checking out my blog. Awesome site you have, I will defintely order from you when I need more cryogel.
June 16th, 2009 at 4:16 am
I’m glad you wrote about this, especially from an athlete’s perspective! As a massage therapist in a martial arts school, I’m always on the lookout for quality products. I’m curious about how it compares to BioFreeze. The different scents (Lavender, Ocean, Island) set Cryogel apart. Keep us posted!
June 16th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Cindy,
I’ve never used biofreeze but I love cryogel. It takes the edge off the soreness.