Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy can be used in many ways, including whole body exposure for therapeutic health benefits or may be used locally to treat a variety of tissue lesions.

Cryotherapy decreases the temperature of tissue surfaces to minimize hypoxic cell death, edema accumulation, and muscle spasms.

Electric cryotherapy chambers are fully enclosed, walk-in rooms designed to expose the human body to ultra low temperatures for 2-3 minutes resulting in various therapeutic and health benefits.

Electric cryo chambers use refrigeration as a cooling agent providing a safe, breathable environment, not exposing the client to any dangerous gases such as nitrogen.

[2] Proponents say that cryotherapy may reduce pain and inflammation, help with mental disorders, support exercise recovery and improve joint function.

[14] Contraindications to the use of cryosurgery include but are not limited to; using it over a neoplasm, someone with conditions that are worsened by exposure to cold (i.e. Raynaud's, urticaria), and poor circulation or no sensation in the area.

They include someone with collagen vascular disease, dark-skinned individuals (due to high risk of hypopigmentation), and impaired sensation at the area being treated.

[17][18][19][20] An ice pack is placed over an injured area and is intended to absorb heat of a closed traumatic or Edematous injury by using conduction to transfer thermal energy.

The use of ice packs in treatment decreases the blood flow most rapidly at the beginning of the cooling period,[21] this occurs as a result of vasoconstriction, the initial reflex sympathetic activity.

Animal studies also show that a disrupted inflammatory stage of healing may lead to impaired tissue repair and redundant collagen synthesis.

[27] Cryotherapy, the withdrawal of heat from an individual's body via the application of cold modalities to reduce tissue temperature, has been known as a treatment intervention for the overall management of musculoskeletal injuries, especially when it comes to relieving pain and improving functional outcomes after total knee arthroplasty.

[28] The most concurrent systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare continuous and traditional applications of cryotherapy on patients who have undergone total knee arthroplasty, specifically in pain intensity, analgesics consumption, swelling, blood loss, postoperative range of motion (PROM), and length of hospital stay.

According to the study's findings, there were no statistically significant differences in pain intensity, analgesic consumption, swelling, blood loss, PROM, and length of hospital stay between the continuous and traditional cryotherapy groups.

At the same time, the study acknowledges its limitations, including lack of blinding, substantial heterogeneity, and modest sample sizes in eligible trials.

Therefore, the researchers state the current evidence isn’t substantial enough to support the theoretical cost-effectiveness of continuous cryotherapy after total knee arthroplasty.

[9] Cryotherapy is also increasingly used as a non-drug treatment against rheumatoid arthritis, stress, anxiety, or chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia.

[36] To achieve the subzero temperatures required for whole body cryotherapy, two methods are typically used: liquid nitrogen and refrigerated cold air.

Gloves, a woollen headband covering the ears, and a nose and mouth mask, in addition to dry shoes and socks, are commonly worn to reduce the risk of cold-related injury.

[9] Reviews of whole-body cryotherapy have called for research studies to implement active surveillance of adverse events, which are suspected of being underreported.

[9][37] If the cold temperatures are produced by evaporating liquid nitrogen, there is the risk of inert gas asphyxiation as well as frostbite.

If the cold temperatures are produced by evaporating liquid nitrogen, there is the risk of inert gas asphyxiation as well as frostbite.