Therabody is best known for its range of percussion massagers, but the fitness brand also has a range of heating and cooling tech. The newest item (that isn’t for your knees) is the CryoTherm Palm. If the name isn’t enough of a clue, it’s supposed to keep your hands ready for action.
That’s not all it does, obviously. The dumbbell-shaped accessory will heat or cool a user’s hands, but it’ll also perform spot maintenance on other parts of the body. The company calls this contrast therapy. Mostly, though, the CryoTherm Palm is there to look after your hands.
Therabody of evidence
The Palm resembles a hand weight, but it hosts a battery and two separate heating and cooling elements. These can be set to cool or warm a user’s hands. Otherwise, one side can be warm and the other cold. Swapping between the two can help soothe aches in places without fingers.
As for why you’d use it, Therabody reckons its device can lower “core body temperature mid-session to help delay fatigue between sets, sprints and plays.” This is supposed, like all the company’s tech, to allow for more intense effort with less backlash. And, if you happen to experience the latter, one of the company’s massage guns should put you back in short order.
The palm heating function is less effort-intensive, but still useful. It shouldn’t make you more effective overall, but it does mean sporting types can start their efforts with nimble digits. Imagine a winter rugby game where the whole team has taken to the field with warm palms. Better grip out of the gate could lead to a few early points on the board.
Therabody’s newest will set buyers back some R6,650 ($400), with the CryoTherm Palm currently only available overseas. The local store stocks some of the brand’s thermal tech, so there’s a chance we’ll see it launch locally. When is anyone’s guess.
