Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, M. Sklodowskiej-Curie 9 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Cryobiology. 2013 Jun;66(3):295-302. doi: 10.1016/j.cryobiol.2013.03.006. Epub 2013 Mar 25.
Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) is an increasing applied cryotherapeutic method, that involves application of a cryotherapeutic factor to stimulate the body by the means of intense hypothermia of virtually the body's entire area. This method is still not well recognized in Western Europe. However in recent years it is becoming increasingly popular in sports medicine and also in clinical application. Cryotherapeutic agents used in WBC are considered to be a strong stress stimulus which is associated with a variety of changes in functional parameters, particularly of the cardiovascular and autonomic nervous systems. However, such strong influence upon the entire body could be associated with the risk of unexpected reactions which might be dangerous for homeostasis. The present study evaluated the complex hemodynamic physiological reactions in response to WBC exposure in healthy subjects. Thirty healthy male volunteers participated. Each subject was exposed to WBC (-120°C) for 3-min. None of the participants had been exposed to such conditions previously. The research was conducted with modern and reliable measurements techniques, which assessed complex hemodynamic reactions and skin temperature changes non-invasively. All measurements were performed four times (before WBC, after WBC, WBC+3h and WBC+6h) with a Task Force Monitor (TFM - CNSystems, Medizintechnik, Gratz, Austria). Body superficial temperature was measured by infrared thermographic techniques - infra-red camera Flir P640 (Flir Systems Inc., Sweden). Our results show a significant decrease in heart rate, cardiac output, and increase in stroke volume, total peripheral resistance and baroreceptors reflex sensitivity. These changes were observed just after WBC exposure. At stages WBC+3h and WBC+6h there was observed a significant drop in baroreceptors reflex sensitivity due to increased thermogenesis. In conclusion, the present findings suggest that WBC strongly stimulates the baroreceptor cardiac reflex in response to body fluid changes which sequentially modulate HR and BP control in supine and resting healthy subjects. The study was performed on randomized and homogenic group of young healthy subjects. Our findings are important for WBC safety determination in research and clinical studies.
全身冷冻疗法（WBC）是一种越来越多应用的冷冻疗法，它通过强烈的全身低温来刺激身体，几乎涉及身体的整个区域。这种方法在西欧还没有得到很好的认可。然而，近年来，它在运动医学和临床应用中越来越受欢迎。WBC 中使用的冷冻剂被认为是一种强烈的应激刺激，它与各种功能参数的变化有关，特别是心血管和自主神经系统。然而，对整个身体的这种强烈影响可能与意想不到的反应风险相关，这些反应可能对体内平衡有危险。本研究评估了健康受试者暴露于 WBC 时的复杂血液动力学生理反应。30 名健康男性志愿者参加了这项研究。每位受试者接受 WBC（-120°C）暴露 3 分钟。之前，没有参与者接触过这种条件。该研究采用了现代和可靠的测量技术，非侵入性地评估了复杂的血液动力学反应和皮肤温度变化。所有测量均在四次（暴露前、暴露后、暴露后 3 小时和暴露后 6 小时）使用任务力监测器（TFM - CNSystems，Medizintechnik，Gratz，Austria）进行。身体表面温度通过红外热成像技术测量 - 红外摄像机 Flir P640（Flir Systems Inc.，瑞典）。我们的研究结果显示，心率、心输出量显著降低，而每搏输出量、总外周阻力和压力感受器反射敏感性增加。这些变化在暴露于 WBC 后立即观察到。在 WBC+3h 和 WBC+6h 阶段，由于产热增加，压力感受器反射敏感性显著下降。总之，目前的研究结果表明，WBC 强烈刺激了体液变化引起的压力感受器心脏反射，从而依次调节仰卧和休息的健康受试者的心率和血压控制。该研究是在随机和同质性的年轻健康受试者组中进行的。我们的研究结果对于 WBC 在研究和临床研究中的安全性确定很重要。
