Dog gets his groove back after Rapid City spa's cryotherapy

Karisa Sieverding worried about the fate of her energetic toy shelti corgi, Jake, she has had since childhood after he was hit with sudden onset vertigo late 2018.

"He was just laying in bed. He'd look at us, we'd carry him outside, just go to the bathroom, and he was tired," Sieverding said.

After not being able to shake back from the disease and being down for a while, things were not looking up for Jake.

"Anybody that's had a dog or had to go through that knows how difficult it can be to start discussing what was coming next," Sieverding continued.

Sieverding called up her friend Tara Mechaley, a massage therapist and the owner of The Body Spa in Rapid City, who introduced Jake to cryotherapy.

"Our goal has been to give another alternative to pain management in the Black Hills that does not involve drugs or opioids or any other aggressive means of treatment," said Mechaley said.

In three minutes, a whole body machine fills with nitrogen vapor to drop the ambient temperature to a range of -90 Celsius to -120 celsius creating a dry chill that cues an evolutionary bio-response to extreme cold.

For a more localized treatment, which is what Jake uses, a cryo-machine reduces inflammation and speeds up healing in a specific area.

"We brought him in for his first session and he had his little strut back um when he shook out afterward, his body shake went all the way through his hips," Sieverding said.

Going so far as to shrink a tumor or Jake's leg with their cryo machine, the staff at The Body Spa says dogs are just one type of patient.

"PTSD, anxiety, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, to just wanting overall wellness to our athletes who were looking for a faster, easier way to recover as well," Mechaley said.

"They get out of cryo and they are able to basically walk without the crutch, without the cane, without the walker, they just move easier."

said Andre Reber "Mr. Freeze," the cryo technician at The Body Spa.

and hopes to prove that the refreshing session promotes the natural healing process.

"It's a better quality of life that we see from people," Reber said.

Costing Sieverding about $40 per session, she said the cryotherapy for Jake and his happiness is worth every penny.

"It's an attitude change. The comfort level that he has, he's excited," Sieverding continued.

Cryotherapy originated in Japan in 1978

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