Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33315183›Full record

ReviewPain and therapy2021

Use of Cryotherapy for Managing Chronic Pain: An Evidence-Based Narrative.

Carol Garcia, Jay Karri, Nicholas A Zacharias, Alaa Abd-Elsayed

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Pain and therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07198022 (Comparative Evaluation of Application of Topical Anesthetic Gel, Solution and Cryotherapy), which is not on this map. Cited by 34 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07198022 phase4completednot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Comparative Evaluation of Application of Topical Anesthetic Gel, Solution and Cryotherapy

TypeinterventionalSponsorOndokuz Mayıs UniversityRan2025 to 2026Enrolled100ConditionsHealthy, Topical Anesthesia, Pediatric Dentistry, CryotherapyArmsCryotherapy, topical anesthetic, Topical anesthetic gel
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 64 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. SIMFER guidelines on physical modalities for chronic primary pain management.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2026
    Guideline
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Carol GarciaUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
Jay KarriDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Nicholas A ZachariasUniversity of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA.
Alaa Abd-ElsayedDepartment of Anesthesiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA. alaaawny@hotmail.com.
University of Wisconsin–Madison · USBaylor College of Medicine · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCryotherapy has been used to reduce chronic pain for many years due in part to its ease of use, affordability, and simplicity. It can be applied either locally (e.g., ice packs) or non-locally (e.g., partial and whole-body cryotherapy) depending on the location of the pain.

objectivesTo determine the overall effectiveness of cryotherapy at reducing chronic pain by characterizing the currently available evidence supporting the use and effects of cryotherapy on chronic pain associated with chronic diseases. STUDY

designA narrative review of original research studies assessing the efficacy of cryotherapy in alleviating chronic pain.

methodsA PubMed database search was performed to find human studies between the years 2000 and 2020 that included the application of cryotherapy in patients with chronic pain associated with chronic diseases. A review of the relevant references was also performed to gather more articles. Data was extracted, summarized into tables, and qualitatively analyzed.

resultsTwenty-five studies (22 randomized controlled trials, one prospective analysis, 1 one-group pretest/posttest study, and one case-control study) were included after the literature search. Both local and non-local cryotherapy applications show promise in reducing chronic pain associated with various chronic diseases including those of rheumatic and degenerative origin. Cryotherapy appears to be a safe therapy in carefully selected patients, with only minimal adverse effects reported in the literature. LIMITATIONS: Meta-analysis was not possible given the many differences between studies. Cross-study data homogenization and comparison between studies proved fairly difficult due to the lack of standardized studies, various uses and practice types of cryotherapy, and lack of control groups in some studies.

conclusionsLocal and non-local cryotherapy can be low-risk and easy treatment options to add in the management of chronic pain in carefully selected patients. However, long-term effects, a standardized approach, and careful study of other chronic pain syndromes should be considered in future research to further support the use of cryotherapy in the management of chronic pain.

Indexed as

Chronic painCold applicationCold therapyCryotherapyPain

Identifiers

PMID33315183
PMCPMC8119547
OpenAlexW3112544795

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.