Cryotherapy in contemporary rehabilitation: a review

On the basis of published research, the authors present the current state of our knowledge about local and whole-body low temperature therapy in patients with musculoskeletal disorders and related diseases. The results of experimental studies of cryostimmulation in sports medicine are emphasized. We found that the scientific value of many publications concerning the effectiveness of cryotherapy is rather low, given the small groups, lack of homogeneity, insufficient data regarding the state of advancement and duration of the disease being treated, the parameters of the treatment stimulus, and the parallel application of other methods, e.g. pharmacotherapy and especially kinesitherapy. Experimentation on cryostimulation applied during exertion seems to be an interesting line of research, but the ambiguity of the conclusions and the small number of reports to date make it necessary to continue this work in the future.