THE EFFECTS OF WHOLE-BODY CRYOTHERAPY EXPOSURE IN SPORT: APPLICATIONS FOR RECOVERY AND PERFORMANCE
Christophe Hausswirth, PHD (Head of the Research Dept. of INSEP (French Natl Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance. Collaboration with F. Bieuzen)
(Note: The following is an excerpt from the above study on whole body cryotherapy as it pertains to its use in Sports Recovery and Performance. The complete study can be read via the link below.)
Today, we better understand the utility of whole body cryotherapy (WBC) in the specific context of exercise, whether related to the mechanisms it triggers or the way in which it is applied. A change has occurred in the themes addressed in scientific publications in recent years. Thus, the earlier studies investigated the effects of WBC on functional recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage. Today, other paths are explored such as how WBC affects symptoms of depression or sleep quality in situations where the training workload increases. The results are extremely promising, even if they will need to be
consolidated.
Research is well underway, in order to gain a better understanding of the physiological mechanisms
involved in exposure to WBC. Although placebo conditions are difficult to implement, they are
necessary, as are studies of chronic exposure, to better reflect the reality of athletic training. Finally
based on scales to assess bias in studies, the levels of effectiveness of WBC require further study. To
increase the strength of results, it will be necessary in future studies to limit quality-related biases
through better randomisation, systematic anonymisation of subjects, data and conditions, and
appropriate statistical handling of data. The clinical results to date, suggest WBC could well become
an essential recovery tool, in the ever increasing demands of modern sport.
BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF THE WHOLE BODY CRYOTHERAPY ON SPORT HEMOLYSIS
Giuseppe Banfi, Gianluca Melegati, Alessandra Barassi, Gianvico Melzi d’Eril (School of Medicine, University of Milan, Italy)
(Note: The following is an excerpt from the above study on whole body cryotherapy as it pertains to its use in Sports Recovery and Performance. The complete study can be read via the link below.)
Sport’s anemia is a common risk for athletes. The principal source of an accelerated turnover of the erythrocytes in sportsmen is the intravascular hemolysis. This phenomenon is induced by mechanical breakage for impact of feet and muscular contractions, but also by osmotic changes causing membrane fragility, typically evident after exercise, when free radicals are increased. Wholebody cryotherapy (WBC) covers a wide range of therapeutic applications and consists of briefly exposing the body to extremely cold air. In sports medicine, WBC is used to improve recovery from muscle injury.
Whole-Body Cryotherapy’s Enhancement of Acute Recovery of Running Performance in Well-Trained Athletes
Malte Kruger, Markus de Marees, Karl-Heinrich Dittmar, Billy Sperlich, and Joachim Mester
(Note: The following is an excerpt from the above study on whole body cryotherapy as it pertains to its use in Sports Recovery and Performance. The complete study can be read via the link below.)
Many individual and team sports are characterized by 1 or more training sessions per day, with several competitions per week. Thus, any means to enhance recovery from and between strenuous high-intensity exercise may play an important role for success.1 Cryotherapy—the cooling of the body for therapeutic purposes—is I method applied to endurance-related sports events to enhance recovery from strenuous exercise and avoid or postpone exercise-induced hyperthermia.2 Different cooling methods like cooling garments, ice massages, cold drinks, or cold-water immersion (CWI) in the range of 10°C to 20°C have been applied successfully to enhance recovery-related variables such as time to exhaustion (flim) or exercise-induced muscle damage.
A new method in sports, called whole-body cryotherapy (WBC), is the exposure of the body to extremely cold air of—110°C to -130°C in temperature-controlled units.2 WBC may relieve soreness and reduce the initial muscle damage, as well as the secondary inflammation associated with exercise-induced muscle damage, by reducing muscle metabolism, receptor sensitivity, and nerve conduction velocity.6 WBC may decrease the acute inflammatory process by reducing, for example, serum soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1,7 Consequently, fewer leukocytes are mobilized to the damaged tissue, resulting in decreased proin flam matory and increased anti-inflammatory response.7 However, there are only few studies analyzing the effects of WBC on recovery, so the evidence of its effectiveness is rather weak.
Whole-body cryotherapy as adjunct treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders
Rymaszewska J1, Ramsey D, Chładzińska-Kiejna S.
(Note: The following is an excerpt from the above study on whole body cryotherapy as it pertains to its use in Health and Mental Wellness. The complete study can be read via the link below.)
Rheumatism has been treated using whole-body cryotherapy (WBCT) since the 1970s. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of WBCT as an experimental, adjunctive method of treating depressive and anxiety disorders.
A control (n=34) and a study group (n=26), both consisting of outpatients 18-65 years old with depressive and anxiety disorders (ICD-10), received standard psychopharmacotherapy. The study group was additionally treated with a series of 15 daily visits to a cryogenic chamber (2-3 min, from -160 degrees C to -110 degrees C). The Hamilton's depression rating scale (HDRS) and Hamilton's anxiety rating scale (HARS) were used as the outcome measures.
Cryotherapy decreases histamine levels in the blood of patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Wojtecka-Lukasik E1, Ksiezopolska-Orlowska K, Gaszewska E, Krasowicz-Towalska O, Rzodkiewicz P, Maslinska D, Szukiewicz D, Maslinski S
(Note: The following is an excerpt from the above study on whole body cryotherapy as it pertains to its use in Health and Mental Wellness. The complete study can be read via the link below.)
Conventional physiotherapy (electrotherapy, magnetic fields), kinesitherapy, and whole-body cryotherapy (plus kinesitherapy) are used to relieve pain and inflammation or to improve function in rheumatic diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different physiotherapies and cryotherapy on biochemical blood parameters of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA).
Twenty patients with RA and 17 patients with OA received whole-body cryotherapy at -140 to -160 degrees C for 2 to 3 min, once daily for 4 weeks. The second group of patients (24 with RA and 28 with OA) received conventional physiotherapy for 4 weeks. We measured the parameters of neutrophil activation (respiratory burst, calprotectin) and markers of cartilage metabolism [N-acetyl-beta-D-hexosaminidase (NAHase), ectonucleotide pyrophosphohydrolase (NTPPHase)] twice: before and 3 months after cryotherapy or physiotherapy.