karinezag Santé

Evaluating safety risks of whole-body crytherapy / cryostimulation (WBC) : a scoping review from an international consortium

SFCCE I 2023 I Publication Santé

Abstract

Over the two last decades, whole-body cryotherapy/cryostimulation (WBC) has emerged as an exciting non-pharmacological treatment influencing inflammatory events at a cellular and physiological level, which can result in improved sleep quality, faster neuromuscular recovery after high-intensity exercise, and chronic pain relief for patients suffering different types of diseases (fibromyalgia, rheumatism, arthritis). Some evidence even suggests that WBC has benefits on mental health (depression, anxiety disorders) and cognitive functions in both adults and older adults, due to increased circulating BDNF levels. Recently, some safety concerns have been expressed by influential public health authorities (e.g., FDA, INSERM) based on reports from patients who developed adverse events upon or following WBC treatment. However, part of the data used to support these claims involved individuals whose entire body (except head) was exposed to extreme cold vaporized liquid nitrogen while standing in a narrow bathtub. Such a procedure is known as partial-body cryotherapy (PBC), and is often erroneously mistaken to be whole-body cryotherapy. Although having similarities in terms of naming and pursued aims, these two approaches are fundamentally different. The present article reviews the available literature on the main safety concerns associated with the use of true whole-body cryotherapy. English- and French-language reports of empirical studies including case reports, case series, and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified through searches of PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science electronic databases. Five case reports and two RCTs were included for a total of 16 documented adverse events (AEs). A critical in-depth evaluation of these AEs (type, severity, context of onset, participant’s medical background, follow-up) is proposed and used to illustrate that WBC-related safety risks are within acceptable limits and can be proactively prevented by adhering to existing recommendations, contraindications, and commonsense guidelines.

Fabien D Legrand 1, Benoît Dugué 2, Joe Costello 3, Chris Bleakley 4, Elzbieta Miller 5, James R Broatch 6, Guillaume Polidori 7, Anna Lubkowska 8, Julien Louis 9, Giovanni Lombardi 10, François Bieuzen 11, Paolo Capodaglio 12

Full article : Sur PubMed

karinezag Santé

Impact of acute partial‑body cryostimulation on cognitive performance, cerebral oxygenation, and cardiac autonomic activity

par SFCCE | 2021 | Publication Santé

We assessed the effects of a 3‑min partial‑body cryostimulation (PBC) exposure—where the whole body is exposed to extreme cold, except the head—on cognitive inhibition performance and the possible implications of parasympathetic cardiac control and cerebral oxygenation. In a randomized controlled counterbalanced cross‑over design, eighteen healthy young adults (nine males and nine females) completed a cognitive Stroop task before and after one single session of PBC (3‑min exposure at − 150 °C cold air) and a control condition (3 min at room temperature, 20 °C). During the cognitive task, heart rate variability (HRV) and cerebral oxygenation of the prefrontal cortex were measured using heart rate monitoring and near‑infrared spectroscopy methods. We also recorded the cerebral oxygenation during the PBC session. Stroop performance after PBC exposure was enhanced (562.0 ± 40.2 ms) compared to pre‑PBC (602.0 ± 56.4 ms; P < 0.042) in males only, accompanied by an increase (P < 0.05) in HRV indices of parasympathetic tone, in greater proportion in males compared to females. During PBC, cerebral oxygenation decreased in a similar proportion in males and females but the cerebral extraction (deoxyhemoglobin: ΔHHb) remained higher after exposure in males, only. These data demonstrate that a single PBC session enhances the cognitive inhibition performance on a Stroop task in males, partly mediated by a greater parasympathetic cardiac control and greater cerebral oxygenation. The effects of PBC on cognitive function seem different in females, possibly explained by a different sensitivity to cold stimulation.

Dimitri Theurot1, Benoit Dugué1, Wafa Douzi1, Paul Guitet1, Julien Louis2 & Olivier Dupuy 1,3* 

Full article : | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87089-y