Can Cryotherapy Help With Arthritis?

Cryotherapy, also known as cold therapy, is the local or general use of extremely low temperatures in medical therapy. Especially over the past decade, it has gained popularity, and a multitude of clinics have popped up everywhere specializing in it. Cryotherapy is used in an effort to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling, and is said to have many positive effects for a wide variety of conditions including arthritis. Although it cannot actually heal arthritis, it has many highly valuable and beneficial qualities, and can ease pain and discomfort associated with things like rheumatoid arthritis and other painful diseases and conditions. Cryotherapy also helps strengthen the immune system, enabling the body to fight autoimmune conditions like rheumat

oid arthritis. Furthermore, it gives many patients an immune system 'restart,' restoring the body back to normal function. Cryotherapy also decreases pain, swelling and inflammation. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence and some new research supporting the claims that cryotherapy can offer many health benefits. It can help multiple other conditions in addition to arthritis, such as fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, athletic injuries, atopic dermatitis, acne and other skin conditions, low-risk tumors caused by cancer, mood disorders, chronic pain and many more. Cryotherapy is most effective when it is used as a relatively continuous treatment, best used in conjunction with physical therapy, medications and/or any other treatments suggested by your doctor. Typically 10 to 20 sessions of whole body cryotherapy are recommended to achieve the most optimal therapeutic benefits. But the number of sessions varies, depending on the severity of the condition as well as the individual person. It works best when used as an ongoing maintenance treatment, once a number of sessions have achieved satisfactory initial results.  

About Arthritis 

Arthritis comes in many different forms, each with different effects like wear and tear, infections and underlying diseases, but generally is described as the inflammation of one or more joints, causing pain and swelling that progresses over time. It is an extremely painful and debilitating condition that is also chronic, and has no cure. Arthritis in its many forms accounts for more than 100 joint inflammation conditions and diseases. Because there is no cure, or even any effective standard treatment at all for it, sufferers usually practice multiple different home or other remedies, found usually by trial and error, to at least provide some occasional relief from the constant, terrible aching pain. Learning to manage this kind of arthritic pain is an essential part of living with and treating the disease, thus experiencing a better quality of life. Symptoms include pain, swelling, reduced range of motion and stiffness, especially after resting or inactivity. It affects people of all ages and ethnic groups, but is especially prevalent in older people. 

How Cryotherapy helps with Arthritis 

If you are asking the question can cryotherapy help with arthritis, this is what we're addressing. There are now a myriad of studies that confirm cryotherapy is effective in easing pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. Not only this, but it is also credited with improving general well-being, improvement in general mobility and joint function, and even a reduction in medicine intake, for a significant portion of participants. Furthermore, the effects can still be shown 3 to 6 months after completion of therapy. Cryotherapy, applied locally or to the whole body (see below sections on both types), has been widely and empirically used in inflammatory rheumatic diseases as an adjunct therapy. Most people who have arthritis in any form, say that any type of relief at all from this debilitating condition is welcomed. Cryotherapy has been shown to decrease pain for sufferers of many musculoskeletal conditions including lower back pain, knee and hip injuries, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. A study of rheumatoid arthritis patients reported the one variable that showed definite improvement with cryotherapy was pain levels. Patients report less pain and even a burst of energy directly following cryotherapy; this leads to improved functionality and better quality of life. 

WBC (Whole Body Cryotherapy)

This treatment involves exposing individuals to extremely cold dry air (below −100 °C) for two to four minutes. To achieve the subzero temperatures required for WBC, liquid nitrogen and refrigerated cold air are used. It typically takes place in an environmentally controlled room for short periods of time (typically between 2 and 5 minutes). During these exposures, individuals wear minimal clothing, gloves, a woolen headband covering the ears, a nose and mouth mask, and dry shoes and socks to reduce the risk of cold-related injury. At NuWave Cryotherapy Skin And Light Spa, they use a chamber that your head does not get exposed in, so no protective headgear is needed. Whole-body cryotherapy is said to exert beneficial systemic analgesic, myo-relaxing, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects in a wide panel of musculoskeletal  disorders. Studies have also shown that whole-body cryotherapy significantly reduced pain in people with arthritis. They found that the treatment was well-tolerated and allowed for more aggressive physiotherapy and occupational therapy because of it. Rehabilitation programs were ultimately made more effective as a result. 

Isolated Cryotherapy 

Isolated or targeted cryotherapy is similar to using ice packs on a sore or strained muscle, only much colder and far more efficient. Using a wand similar to a laser, a specific area is located and targeted with the sub-zero temperatures of cryotherapy to provide relief from pain and inflammation, among other things it can be used for. Soothing and relaxing feeling with no harmful side effects and a burst of energy for some, this is also an effective treatment for certain types of arthritis, among many other conditions. 

Choosing A Specialist 

Finding a clinic that specializes in these revolutionary treatments these days is not difficult, but finding one of superior quality is rare. NuWave Cryotherapy Skin And Light Spa is one of the rarities. Here their focus is primarily on what they can do to truly help you to have the quality of life you both need and deserve. Only the best quality, state-of-the-art techniques and equipment are used at NuWave. Plus, they specialize in all types of cryotherapy treatments including Cryo Facials. And with their facials, they use Electric Cryotherapy so that your face is never exposed to nitrogen. Check out what they have to offer today, and don't suffer with arthritis pain another minute you don't have to.