Cryotherapy Research Paper

Physiotherapists are often asked about cryotherapy, which is application of cold, and heat therapy. Apply cold when an injury is new (acute), that is for the first 24-48 hours. After 48 hours, heat can be applied over muscles as long as there is no warmth or swelling. The focus of this article is to explain cold therapy in sports performance and recovery.

Cold causes capillaries to constrict, reducing the swelling and inflammation which occur with a new injury. Apply the cold for 15-20 minutes. Ice applied directly to the skin can cause frostbite, so put a cloth or towel between the ice and the skin. For maximum cold transmission, wet the towel. Apply the ice once per hour initially. As the injury heals, apply cold as needed for pain relief, or try heat.

Even with chronic pain, such as with trigger points over the thorax, cold can be more
To avoid frostbite, the face, hands, feet and ears are covered, but the subject wears a bathing suit. The person stays in for 3 minutes. How can a person survive such extreme temperatures? The skin cools rapidly, but core temperature remains the same while in the chamber. Obviously, cryotherapy chambers must be used with great care to avoid damage. It has been shown that whole body cooling influences the antioxidant balance in blood and has an anti-inflammatory as well as analgesic effect.

Very little research has been done on the effect of cryotherapy chambers on sports performance. One study showed that after 10 exposures of three minutes of cryotherapy, anaerobic cycling performance in men improved, that is, the ability to do short sprints improved. The most effective way to promote optimal exercise performance in the heat, and to enhance recovery after intense exercise, is still being debated, but cryotherapy remains an important modality.

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