Capodaglio Paolo, Cremascoli Riccardo, Piterà Paolo, Fontana Jacopo M
Orthopedic Rehabilitation Unit and Research Laboratory in Biomechanics and Rehabilitation, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, San Giuseppe Hospital, Verbania, Italy.
Department of Surgical Sciences, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
J Rehabil Med Clin Commun. 2022 Sep 19;5:2810. doi: 10.2340/jrmcc.v5.2810. eCollection 2022.
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.
越来越多的研究表明，全身冷冻刺激（WBC）在多种康复相关病症中有望作为一种辅助治疗方法发挥作用。事实上，目前WBC正被用于缓解类风湿性关节炎、纤维肌痛、强直性脊柱炎、抑郁和焦虑、多发性硬化症、睡眠障碍、剧烈体育锻炼后的肌肉酸痛、新冠后综合征以及肥胖症的症状。WBC不仅是一种对症物理疗法，更是一种“适应性疗法”，因为它会在全身表面反复施加类似休克的低温冷刺激，从而引发自主神经、内分泌、循环、神经肌肉和免疫系统的反应，进而产生一种有助于恢复内稳态的适应性变化。因此，基于现有证据，WBC可被描述为：自主神经系统的一种“训练方法”；一种新型抗炎和抗氧化治疗方法；一种对身体成分和脂肪组织有有益作用的治疗方法。我们认为，热应激对人体生理反应的强大影响具有独特特征，有可能被利用来提高各种病症的康复效果。因此，我们认为强调WBC在医学上的潜在用途并突出其在康复领域的相关性非常重要，目的是激发关于WBC作为辅助治疗在各种康复相关病症中的疗效的科学研究。
