ReviewEuropean journal of applied physiology2021
The cold truth: the role of cryotherapy in the treatment of injury and recovery from exercise.
Review in European journal of applied physiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 43 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Comparative Evaluation of Application of Topical Anesthetic Gel, Solution and Cryotherapy
Effects of Acute Cryotherapy on Musculoskeletal Function and Biomarkers for Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Muscle Damage
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 103 citations in OpenAlex.
- A reassessment of existing systematic reviews evaluating the effectiveness of cryotherapy in patients following total knee arthroplasty.Annals of medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Whole-body cryotherapy can reduce the inflammatory response in humans: a meta-analysis based on 11 randomized controlled trials.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Cryotherapy in Postoperative Shoulder Surgery: A Systematic Review.Therapeutic hypothermia and temperature management · 2024Pooled it
- Short-duration phase-change material cryotherapy selectively enhances early neuromuscular and perceptual recovery.PloS one · 2026Trial
- Effect of cold-water immersion treatment on recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in the hamstring.European journal of sport science · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Effects of post-exercise cold-water immersion on performance and perceptive outcomes of competitive adolescent swimmers.European journal of applied physiology · 2024Trial
- A randomised crossover trial of five cryocompression devices' ability to reduce skin temperature of the knee.PloS one · 2024Trial
- Acute effects of cryotherapy duration on upper extremity muscle strength, flexibility, endurance, and balance: a randomized trial.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Recovery Strategies in Elite-Level Male Rugby Union Players and Positional Considerations: A Scoping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- Advances in biomaterials for sports injury prevention and rehabilitation: current status and future perspectives.Nanoscale advances · 2026Review
- Acute Effects of Three Recovery Interventions on Post-Practice Vertical Jump Force-Time Metrics in Female Basketball Players.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Thermal stress: an untapped potential in rehabilitation? An opinion paper on Finnish sauna and whole-body cryostimulation.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Review
- Therapeutic outcomes of cryotherapy plus Graston Technique on pain and activities of daily living in individuals with knee pain.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Muscle regeneration is improved by hot water immersion but unchanged by cold following a simulated musculoskeletal injury in humans.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- The energy resistance principle.Cell metabolism · 2025Review
- Isolated and Combined Effects of Cold, Heat and Hypoxia Therapies on Muscle Recovery Following Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Review
- Recovery for Professional and Elite Amateur Golfers: A Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Methods.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Article
- Impact of peripheral skin cooling on neuroendocrine leukocytic and hematological reactions during Hypergravity.NPJ microgravity · 2025Article
- Effects of an intervention combining warm therapy with a digital distraction app on pain, stress, and satisfaction during intravenous catheterization in South Korea: a randomized controlled trial.Journal of Korean biological nursing science · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cryotherapy is utilized as a physical intervention in the treatment of injury and exercise recovery. Traditionally, ice is used in the treatment of musculoskeletal injury while cold water immersion or whole-body cryotherapy is used for recovery from exercise. In humans, the primary benefit of traditional cryotherapy is reduced pain following injury or soreness following exercise. Cryotherapy-induced reductions in metabolism, inflammation, and tissue damage have been demonstrated in animal models of muscle injury; however, comparable evidence in humans is lacking. This absence is likely due to the inadequate duration of application of traditional cryotherapy modalities. Traditional cryotherapy application must be repeated to overcome this limitation. Recently, the novel application of cooling with 15 °C phase change material (PCM), has been administered for 3-6 h with success following exercise. Although evidence suggests that chronic use of cryotherapy during resistance training blunts the anabolic training effect, recovery using PCM does not compromise acute adaptation. Therefore, following exercise, cryotherapy is indicated when rapid recovery is required between exercise bouts, as opposed to after routine training. Ultimately, the effectiveness of cryotherapy as a recovery modality is dependent upon its ability to maintain a reduction in muscle temperature and on the timing of treatment with respect to when the injury occurred, or the exercise ceased. Therefore, to limit the proliferation of secondary tissue damage that occurs in the hours after an injury or a strenuous exercise bout, it is imperative that cryotherapy be applied in abundance within the first few hours of structural damage.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.