A French woman who was injured during a fatal cryotherapy session at a gym – that had earlier, in the same week, claimed the life of another woman – is now brain-dead, a prosecutor’s office in Paris has announced.
An autopsy on the first victim showed she suffocated from a lack of oxygen, which might confirm the theory of a nitrogen leak into the cryotherapy chamber.
The second woman, in her early 30s, was admitted to hospital in a critical condition after the accident had claimed the life of an employee in her late 20s.
France24 reports that cryotherapy uses vaporised liquid nitrogen or nitrous oxide to lower the skin’s surface temperature to below minus 100 degrees Celsius for a recommended time of no more than three minutes.
Nitrogen – a colourless, odourless gas – makes up around 80% of the air we breathe, while oxygen accounts for 20%. But a nitrogen leak in a closed space could lead to oxygen depletion.
Advocates say whole-body cryotherapy is effective in reducing muscle soreness, stress, rheumatism and various skin conditions.
However, many experts warn that the treatment has not been proven to be medically sound and are urging further research to determine the short- and long-term effects.
Cryotherapy sessions came under scrutiny in the United States in 2015 after a woman froze to death at a Las Vegas spa. She had apparently entered one of the spa’s cold chambers after business hours to relieve some aches, and was discovered the next day by a co-worker.