JARGON BUSTER

SCIENTIFIC terms decoded. This week: Cryotherapy ALSO known as cold therapy, cryotherapy includes an array of treatments that employ extremely low temperatures.

One of its best known uses involves removing areas of skin such as warts and basal cell carcinomas (a common form of skin cancer). The affected skin is ‘frozen’ with a liquid nitrogen spray for five to ten seconds, which kills off the rogue cells. Some major cancers can also be treated. In prostate cancer, for example, a needle inserts ‘freezing’ gas (in this case, argon) into the prostate to kill cancer cells. Whole-body cryotherapy, which involves standing in a chamber cooled to less than -100c, is sometimes recommended for certain muscle and joint-related conditions.