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Cryotherapy in inflammatory rheumatic diseases: a systematic review
Xavier Guillot1, Nicolas Tordi, Laurent Mourot
1Department of Rheumatology, University Hospital of Besançon, boulevard Fleming, 25030 Besançon Cedex, France.
Expert Review of Clinical Immunology
|December 19, 2013
Summary
Cryotherapy offers significant pain relief and reduced disease activity for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. This inflammatory rheumatic disease treatment may allow for lower doses of other medications, but more research is needed.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Immunology
- Physical Medicine
Background:
- Inflammatory rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), cause significant pain and joint destruction.
- Current therapeutic strategies aim to manage inflammation and slow disease progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the therapeutic and biological effects of cryotherapy in inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
- To evaluate cryotherapy's efficacy as an adjunctive treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of multiple databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, LILACS) and unpublished data.
- Inclusion of studies on non-operated, non-infected arthritic patients treated with local or whole-body cryotherapy.
- Meta-analysis of 6 studies involving 257 rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Main Results:
- Chronic cryotherapy significantly reduced pain visual analogic scale and 28-joint disease activity score in RA patients.
- Local cryotherapy may downregulate intra-articular inflammatory mediators, though RA-specific studies are limited.
- Potential for corticosteroid and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug dose-sparing effects was observed.
Conclusions:
- Cryotherapy shows promise as an adjunctive therapy for rheumatoid arthritis management.
- Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are necessary to define optimal cryotherapy techniques and protocols.
- Cryotherapy may help reduce the need for higher doses of conventional anti-inflammatory medications.
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