Athletes, chronic pain sufferers, and those with hard-to-treat illnesses may soon be able to depend on specialized cold treatments to help their conditions improve. Cryotherapy is just starting to become more widely accepted in the medical field and has great potential for better health.
At Arctic Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska, our team of medical specialists don’t yet provide such treatments, but they’re excited about the latest advances in cryotherapy and are eager to see where it leads in the future. In the meantime, they have leading-edge treatments from the world of regenerative medicine to help you manage pain and improve your health.
8 potential ways cryotherapy can benefit patients
There are several different types of cryotherapy, from a whole-body therapy that immerses you in a cooling tank, to targeted injectable cold therapy that pinpoints nerves causing pain and “freezes” them, temporarily shutting down pain transmission. Here are eight ways cryotherapy can benefit patients.
1. Restless leg syndrome (RLS): Symptom improvement
Some research indicates that localized cryotherapy could be a supplementary treatment option for RLS in addition to conventional pharmacological treatment.
2. Fibromyalgia: Improved quality of life
Fibromyalgia patients in a whole-body cryotherapy group study reported significantly improved quality of life, and the effects lasted for at least one month following intervention.
3. Multiple sclerosis (MS): Less fatigue
MS patients enrolled in a study for the efficacy of cryotherapy reported improved functional status and a reduced feeling of fatigue, especially in those who were the most fatigued at the study’s start.
4. Tinnitus: Less ringing
A study of patients with ringing in their ears showed a complete elimination of tinnitus in several patients, and a decrease in intensity in the majority of study participants after cryotherapy. After treatment, researchers observed a decrease in average hearing loss as well as average hearing damage.
5. Antioxidants: Increases in antioxidant activity
Treatment data from a study of antioxidants after cryotherapy showed that there was a statistically significant increase of antioxidant activities after 10 days of treatment, leading to the conclusion that the extremely low temperatures used in cryostimulation improve antioxidant functionality.
6. Ankylosing spondylitis: Improved spinal mobility
A study of patients with the spinal condition ankylosing spondylitis showed significant improvements in spinal mobility parameters after cryotherapy and kinesitherapy, as compared to patients in whom kinesitherapy alone was used.
7. Rheumatoid arthritis: Decreased pain
In a study of patients treated with cryotherapy and other methods after a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, pain decreased in all treatment groups but most markedly in the whole-body cryotherapy (-110 degrees C) group.
8. Exercise: Lessened muscle pain
Several studies of athletes who received whole-body cryotherapy for “damaging” exercise indicated that muscle pain was reduced in 80% of the studies, muscle inflammation was lessened, and athletic capacity and performance were improved in 71% of the studies using controlled exercise.
Want to learn more about regenerative medicine and how supplemental treatments can help you with pain management? Contact our offices at (907) 290-8111 or request an appointment online.