Currently, all available therapies for the control and management of fibromyalgia (FM) are mostly focused on relieving patients’ symptoms and improving their quality of life. The purpose of this review is to provide an up-to-date overview of the evidence supporting the beneficial effects of whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) in patients with FM and evidence-based guidance on the possible adjuvant use of WBC in the treatment of FM. We searched the most recent literature by retrieving 10 eligible studies, 4 of which were abstracts only, from a total of 263 records. Thermal stress caused by cryostimulation induces an analgesic effect, improving pain, redox balance, and inflammatory symptoms in an exercise-mimicking fashion. In addition, it reduces the feeling of fatigue, improves mood, and reduces mental health deterioration with positive consequences on depressive states and improved sleep quality. Although the studies included in this review are not of sufficient quality and quantity to draw definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of WBC in FM, initial evidence indicates WBC as a promising add-on option in the multidisciplinary treatment of FM, due to its rapid action and high patients’ compliance. The application of WBC protocols has the potential to expand therapeutic options for the treatment of FM and related disorders; however, larger, high-quality primary studies are still needed.
Given the severity and prevalence of post-COVID-19 symptoms in the general population, the identification of boosters for rehabilitation programs appears to be of paramount importance. The purpose of this case series is to provide some preliminary evidence about the role of whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) as an effective adjuvant for the recovery of patients with the post-COVID-19 condition (PCC). We recruited seven patients with previously confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and symptoms of PCC of different severities for a comprehensive rehabilitation program, including WBC. The main symptoms were dyspnea, chronic and muscular fatigue, chronic pain, and poor sleep quality. Moreover, some patients presented high levels of hematological markers of inflammation. Because we provided a range of interventions, including nutritional and psychological support along with physical exercise and physiotherapy, we could not determine to what extent WBC may per se have accounted for the clinical and functional improvements. However, for all reported cases, it was observed that the introduction of WBC sessions represented a turning point in the patient’s subjective and objective improvements related to health and functioning.
Missing (Case Report)
Background: Weight loss is associated with a reduction in all body compartments, including muscle mass (MM), and this effect produces a decrease in function and muscle strength. Our objective was to assess the impact of protein or amino acid supplements on MM loss in middle-aged men (age < 65 years) with severe obesity (BMI > 35 kg/m2) during weight loss. Materials and Methods: We conducted a single-site randomized controlled trial (Clinicaltrials.gov NCT05143398) with 40 in-patient male subjects with severe obesity. Participants underwent an intervention program consisting of a low-calorie balanced diet and structured physical activity. They were randomly assigned to 4-week treatment groups: (1) control (CTR, N = 10), (2) protein (P, N = 10), (3) branched-chain amino acid (BCAA, N = 10), and (4) essential amino acid mixture with tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates (PD-E07, N = 10) supplementation. Results: Following 4 weeks of intervention, all groups showed similar reductions in body weight compared to baseline. When examining the delta values, a notable increase in muscle mass (MM) was observed in the PD-E07 intervention group [MM (kg): 2.84 ± 3.57; MM (%): 3.63 ± 3.14], in contrast to the CTR group [MM (kg): −2.46 ± 3.04; MM (%): −0.47 ± 2.28], with a statistical significance of p = 0.045 and p = 0.023, respectively. However, the MM values for the P group [MM (kg): −2.75 ± 5.98, p = 0.734; MM (%): −0.44 ± 4.02, p = 0.990] and the BCAA group [MM (kg): −1 ± 3.3, p = 0.734; MM (%): 0.34 ± 2.85, p = 0.956] did not exhibit a statistically significant difference when compared to the CTR group. Conclusions: Amino acid-based supplements may effectively mitigate the loss of MM typically observed during weight reduction. Further validation through large-scale studies is necessary.
Pain severity, depression, and sleep disturbances are key targets for FM rehabilitation. Recent evidence suggests that whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) might be an effective add-on treatment in the management of FM. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an add-on WBC intervention to a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program on pain intensity, depressive symptoms, disease impact, sleep quality, and performance-based physical functioning in a sample of FM patients with obesity. We performed a randomized controlled trial with 43 patients with FM and obesity undergoing a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program with and without the addition of ten 2-min WBC sessions at −110 °C over two weeks. According to our results, the implementation of ten sessions of WBC over two weeks produced additional benefits. Indeed, both groups reported positive changes after the rehabilitation; however, the group that underwent WBC intervention had greater improvements in the severity of pain, depressive symptoms, disease impact, and quality of sleep. On the contrary, with respect to performance-based physical functioning, we found no significant between-group differences. Our findings suggest that WBC could be a promising add-on treatment to improve key aspects of FM, such as pain, depressive symptoms, disease impact and poor sleep quality.
A growing body of work suggests that whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) could play a role as a promising adjuvant therapy in various conditions of rehabilitation interest. In fact, WBC is currently being used to relieve symptoms in rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, ankylosing spondylitis, depression and anxiety, multiple sclerosis, sleep disturbances, muscle soreness after strenuous physical exercise, post-Covid syndrome and obesity. WBC is not only a symptomatic physical therapy but rather represents an “adaptation therapy” because of the repeated shock-like cryogenic cold stimulus over the entire body surface that induces reactions in the autonomic, endocrine, circulatory, neuromuscular and immunological systems, resulting in an adaptation that contributes to the restoration of the homeostatic state. Therefore, based on the existing evidence, WBC can be described as follows:• a “training method” for the autonomic nervous system;• a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant treatment;• a treatment with beneficial effects on body composition and adipose tissue.In our opinion, the powerful effects of thermal stress on the physiological responses of the human body present unique features that could potentially be exploited to boost rehabilitation outcomes in various conditions. Therefore, we believe it is important to highlight the potential use of WBC for medical use and emphasize its relevance in the field of rehabilitation with the aim of stimulating scientific studies on the efficacy of WBC as an adjuvant treatment in various conditions of rehabilitation interest. LAY ABSTRACTA growing body of work suggests that whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) could play a role as a promising adjuvant therapy in various conditions of rehabilitation interest, as it can act as • a “training method” for the autonomic nervous system;• a novel anti-inflammatory and antioxidant treatment;• a treatment with beneficial effects on body composition and adipose tissue.Therefore, we want to highlight the potential use of WBC for medical use and its relevance in the field of rehabilitation with the aim of stimulating scientific studies on the efficacy of WBC as an adjuvant treatment in various conditions of rehabilitation interest.
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