Effects of 15 consecutive cryotherapy sessions on the clinical output of fibromyalgic patients

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a chronic widespread pain disorder in which, the neurogenic origin of the pain, featured by allodynia and hyperalgesia, results from an imbalance in the levels of neurotransmitters and consequently of the peripheral pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators. Whole body cryotherapy is a peculiar physical therapy known to relieve pain and inflammatory symptoms characteristics of rheumatic diseases, through the regulation of the cytokine expression. The aim of this study was to qualitatively evaluate the effects of cryotherapy on the clinical output of fibromyalgic patients. A total of 100 fibromyalgic patients (age range 17-70 years) were observed; 50 subjects were addressed to cryotherapy, while the second group (n = 50) did not underwent to the cryotherapic treatment. All subjects kept the prescribed pharmacological therapy during the study (analgesic and antioxidants). The referred health status pre- and post-observation was evaluated with the following scales: Visual Analogue Scale, Short Form-36, Global Health Status and Fatigue Severity Scale. Fibromyalgic patients treated with cryotherapy reported a more pronounced improvement of the quality of life, in comparison with the non-cryo treated fibromyalgic subjects, as indicated by the scores of the qualitative indexes and sub-indexes, that are widely recognized tools to assess the overall health status and the effect of the treatments. We speculate that this improvement is due to the known direct effect of cryotherapy on the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators having a recognized role in the modulation of pain.

Cryotherapy in inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a systematic review

“…It can be used not only in inflammatory joint diseases (such as crystalinduced arthritis, spondyloarthritis and RA [10]) but also in such painful rheumatic condition as osteoarthritis [8,9], fibromyalgia [11], shoulder capsulitis [12] and muscle damage [13]. Wholebody cryotherapy (WBC) also showed effects on bone biomarkers [14].…”

Whole-Body Cryotherapy in Athletes: From Therapy to Stimulation. An Updated Review of the Literature

“…Nevertheless, almost all of these studies agree on general benefits induced by the treatment including improved pain, mood, and quality of life (QoL). A prototypic example was found in patients affected by fibromyalgia, an auto-inflammatory disease of unknown pathogenesis and highly variable clinical presentation, always characterized by chronic systemic inflammation, generalized pain, and severe fatigue, which invariably and considerably deteriorates the QoL; regardless of the conventional analgesic therapy, compared to subjects not treated with WBC ( n = 50), patients receiving the WBC treatment ( n = 50) exhibited large clinical improvements in all the investigated parameters depicting the QoL and the ability to perform daily activities [pain by visual analog scale (VAS), global health status (GH), fatigue severity scale (FSS), and short form (SH)-36; Bettoni et al, 2013]. …”

“…Local and systemic cold therapies (cryotherapies) are widely used to relieve symptoms of various diseases including inflammation, pain, muscle spasms, and swelling, especially chronic inflammatory ones, injuries, and overuse symptoms (Bettoni et al, 2013; Jastrzabek et al, 2013). The beneficial effects of cold as a therapeutic agent have been known for a long time, with ancient population aware about the reinvigorating effects of cold water either taken orally or used for baths.…”

Cryotherapy – A call for further research

“…However, the evidence for the use of WBC, while limited, is growing. For example, positive results were observed when using WBC in conjunction with physical therapy in the management of adhesive capsulitis of the shoulder, 19 an improvement in quality of life of fibromyalgic patients, 20 and the treatment of exercise induced muscle damage. …”