Optimize U offers variety of services 'to help people live their best life'

In 2017, Barry Evans had a car wreck, breaking his femur in two places. During recovery, Evans spent time in the gym trying to regain strength when a friend recognized his lack of dedication and motivation, and encouraged him to get his testosterone levels checked at the Paducah Optimize U clinic.

After hormone therapy and once Evans' hormone levels reached where they needed to be, he felt much better, regained the drive and enthusiasm to go to the gym and even lost about 60 pounds in the process.

Evans and his wife, Dr. Laura Evans, opened the Cape Optimize U clinic in September 2019, along with partners Jena Ruxer, MD; Brandon Strenge, MD; Jerry Smith, PA; and Joshua Hudson, RN.

"I started off as a patient. I never really saw myself getting involved in anything medical, but seeing how it affected me, my wife said I would be the perfect spokesperson," Barry Evans said. "So, we talked to our now partners and proposed opening one in Cape."

Optimize U — at 2504 William St., Suite 5, in Cape Girardeau — specializes in hormone optimization therapy, whole body cryotherapy, infrared sauna, IV therapy and muscle compression therapy.

Optimize U's cryotherapy chamber is seen Wednesday in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

Using bioidentical hormones, Optimize U offers hormones replacement therapy for men and women based on an extensive lab panel. The client has options of injections, creams or oral methods to obtain the hormones.

Among the IV therapy options, Optimize U offers an immunity IV created to boost the immune system, which includes vitamin C, B complex as well zinc, "which are some of the recommendations trying to fight off COVID," Evans said.

Within the framework of muscle recovery services, the company offers cryotherapy and muscle compression. Clients can opt to use compression garments for legs, arms and body. Compression is a technique used to help improve blood flow, decrease muscle soreness after exercise and reduce swelling.

According to Health Tech Zone, the result is not only improved performance but also the ability to maintain a higher level of performance for a longer duration.

Cold hard facts

Cryotherapy refers to any therapy utilizing cold (cryo). Optimize U uses whole-body cryotherapy. According to its website — www.optimizeunow.com — a client steps into a freezing cold Cryo Sauna "chamber," which lowers the skin's surface temperature rapidly enough to stimulate regulatory functions of the body, similar to an ice bath but more comfortable. The healing effects on the body do not occur during the time inside the chamber, but for the hours immediately after, the website states.

"Ours doesn't pump in liquid nitrogen as most of them do," Evans said. "It's electric and uses two kinds of Freon. It's much safer because you don't have the exposure to nitrogen."

Maintaining a temperature between minus 120 Fahrenheit to minus 190 Fahrenheit and lasting three and a half minutes, the rapid vascular constriction that occurs sends blood in the peripheral arteries to the core and vital organs. Evans said the goal is to "drop your skin temperature by 30 degrees or more."

Optimize U's cryotherapy chamber is seen Wednesday in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel

Once the session is over and the body works to regain its normal temperature, blood vessels will dilate and pull oxygen-enriched blood into the muscles and areas that may not otherwise receive good circulation.

"We are pretty unique with what we have here," Evans said. "This exact unit is used at the football programs of the University of Clemson, University of Alabama and University of Virginia."

According to Evans, whole-body cryotherapy can help with anxiety, mood disorders, depression and PTSD, in addition to muscle recovery.

"If you got that soreness after a hard leg day at the gym, you can come in and you do cryo and it really helps with quicker muscle recovery so you're not dealing with that two-day soreness," Evans said.

Other than having to remind people to "breathe normal" once they enter the chamber, Evans said, "We're seeing really good results. I have one retired gentleman who comes in — he was on several anti-inflammatory medicines, and doing cryo now weekly, he has weaned himself off every one of those meds."

With its many ways to get bodies functioning at the ideal balance, Evans added, "We want to help people live their best life."

Barry Evans, co-owner of Optimize U in Cape Girardeau, poses for a portrait at the health spa Wednesdsay in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel