Chruściak Tomasz
Rehabilitation Center, Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior, Warsaw, Poland.
Reumatologia. 2016;54(6):291-295. doi: 10.5114/reum.2016.64904. Epub 2016 Dec 30.
One of the treatments for osteoarthritis (OA) is whole-body cryotherapy (WBC). The aim of this study is to assess the effect of whole-body cryotherapy on the clinical status of patients with osteoarthritis (OA), according to their subjective feelings before and after the application of a 10-day cold treatment cycle. The aim is also to assess the reduction of intensity and frequency of pain, the reduction of the painkiller medication used, and to assess the possible impact on physical activity.
The study involved 50 people, including 30 women (60%) and 20 men (40%). Thirty-one patients had spondyloarthritis (62% of respondents), 10 had knee osteoarthritis (20%), and 9 hip osteoarthritis (18%). The overall average age was 50.1 ±10.9 years; the youngest patient was 29 years old and the oldest 73 years old. The average age of the women was 6 years higher. The study used a questionnaire completed by patients, and consisted of three basic parts. The modified Laitinen pain questionnaire contained questions concerning the intensity and frequency of pain, frequency of painkiller use and the degree of limited mobility. The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used in order to subjectively evaluate the therapy after applying the ten-day treatment cycle.
According to the subjective assessment of respondents, after the whole-body cryotherapy treatments, a significant improvement occurred in 39 patients (78%), an improvement in 9 patients (18%), and no improvement was only declared by 2 patients (4%).
Whole-body cryotherapy resulted in a reduction in the frequency and degree of pain perception in patients with osteoarthritis. WBC reduced the number of analgesic medications in these patients. It improved the range of physical activity and had a positive effect on the well-being of patients.
骨关节炎（OA）的治疗方法之一是全身冷冻疗法（WBC）。本研究的目的是根据骨关节炎（OA）患者在接受为期10天的冷疗周期前后的主观感受，评估全身冷冻疗法对其临床状况的影响。目的还包括评估疼痛强度和频率的降低、止痛药物使用的减少，并评估对身体活动的可能影响。
该研究纳入了50人，其中包括30名女性（60%）和20名男性（40%）。31名患者患有脊柱关节炎（占受访者的62%），10名患有膝关节骨关节炎（20%），9名患有髋关节骨关节炎（18%）。总体平均年龄为50.1±10.9岁；最年轻的患者29岁，最年长的73岁。女性的平均年龄高6岁。该研究使用了患者填写的问卷，问卷由三个基本部分组成。改良的莱蒂宁疼痛问卷包含有关疼痛强度和频率、止痛药物使用频率以及活动受限程度的问题。在应用为期十天的治疗周期后，使用视觉模拟量表（VAS）对治疗进行主观评估。
根据受访者的主观评估，全身冷冻疗法治疗后，39名患者（78%）有显著改善，9名患者（18%）有改善，只有2名患者（4%）表示无改善。
全身冷冻疗法可降低骨关节炎患者疼痛感知的频率和程度。全身冷冻疗法减少了这些患者的止痛药物数量。它改善了身体活动范围，并对患者的幸福感产生了积极影响。
