ArticleAdvances in rheumatology (London, England)2021
Serial whole-body cryotherapy in fibromyalgia is effective and alters cytokine profiles.
Article in Advances in rheumatology (London, England), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of Vaginal Cryotherapy for the Treatment of Pelvic Floor Myofascial Pain.International urogynecology journal · 2024Trial
- Cold as a therapeutic frontier: place of whole-body cryotherapy in modern medicine.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Review
- Whole-Body Cryostimulation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Case Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- [Whole-body cryotherapy for low back pain].Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2026Review
- Review
- Physical Modalities for the Treatment of Pain in Patients with Fibromyalgia.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2025Review
- Effects of whole-body cryostimulation on spinal and shoulder range of motion in individuals with obesity.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2025Article
- Whole-Body Cryostimulation: An Effective Complementary Treatment in Fibromyalgia? A Follow Up Study.Journal of personalized medicine · 2024Article
- Whole-body cryotherapy in orthopaedics: current concepts.European journal of orthopaedic surgery & traumatology : orthopedie traumatologie · 2024Review
- Whole Body Cryostimulation: A New Adjuvant Treatment in Central Sensitization Syndromes? An Expert Opinion.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Whole-Body Cryostimulation in Functional Neurological Disorders: A Case Report.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Clinical Spectrum and Trajectory of Innovative Therapeutic Interventions for Insomnia: A Perspective.Aging and disease · 2023Article
- The Impact of Whole-Body Cryotherapy on Endothelium Parameters in Patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Is Whole-Body Cryostimulation an Effective Add-On Treatment in Individuals with Fibromyalgia and Obesity? A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- [Pain reduction through physical medicine : Update on the evidence].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionWhole-body cryotherapy (WBC) has shown to be beneficial in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM). There is cumulative evidence that cytokines play a crucial role in FM. It's unknown whether clinical effects of WBC can be demonstrated at the molecular level and how long the effects last.
methodsWe compared effects of serial WBC (6 sessions (- 130 °C in 6 weeks) in FM patients and healthy controls (HC). Primary outcome was the change in pain level (visual analogue scale 0-100 mm) after 6 sessions. Secondary outcomes were a change in disease activity (revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire) and pain after 3 sessions and 3 months after discontinued therapy and in cytokine levels (interleukin (IL-)1, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and IL-10). The patients' opinions on the satisfaction, effectiveness and significance of WBC were evaluated.
resultsTwenty-three FM patients and 30 HC were enrolled. WBC resulted in a significant reduction in pain and disease activity after 3 and 6 sessions. No clinical benefit could be measured 3 months after discontinued treatment. Overall, probands were satisfied with WBC and considered WBC to be important and effective. FM patients had significantly different levels of IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10 at each reading point compared to HC. Levels of IL-1, IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly altered over time in FM patients. Compared to HC FM patients showed a significantly different response of IL1, - 6 and - 10 to WBC.
conclusionSerial WBC is a fast acting and effective treatment for FM. Proven effects of WBC may be explained by changes in cytokines.
Indexed as
Identifiers
33436106What OpenQuestion holds
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.