This technique can be used as a preferential therapy, an alternative to other more invasive techniques (eg micro-surgery) or complementary.
In some cases, the use of cold should be combined with elastic bands (compression and elastic bandage), in order to compress the injured area: the healing time is therefore accelerated.
superficial, which is followed by a subsequent and almost immediate systemic vasoconstriction (since some nervous reflexes are triggered that transmit the cold to other districts). This effect is stable until 15 ° C is reached, while below this limit the effect is opposite : s "thus establishes a vasodilation and the nerves are no longer able to transmit the cold signal (block of nerve fibers). Vasodilation, in fact, represents a process of self-protection of the organism, a defense that the system puts in place. act to avoid blocking blood circulation.
Nervous system
Cryotherapy acts at the nervous level by decreasing the speed of signal transmission.
Metabolism
Cryotherapy also exerts an action at the metabolic level: following the application of cold, the tissue metabolism slows down, due to the fact that the metabolic-biochemical reactions are weakened.
Muscular system
On a muscle level, cold therapy is useful for relaxing tissue and loosening muscles. Also in this case, the effect of cryotherapy is twofold and complementary: the muscle can respond with an increase or decrease in tone. This depends on the time of application of the cold in the affected area: if the application of ice is brief duration there is an increase in muscle tone, vice versa if the application is prolonged.
, up to the treatment of pathologies and very serious affections, such as, for example, some types of skin tumors.
Generally speaking, we can say that the main types of cryotherapy used today are general, localized and systemic cryotherapy.
Although all cryotherapy techniques make use of the use of cold, they are very different from each other and are used for different purposes.
Please Note
The use of any cryotherapy technique must be carried out only and exclusively by specialized medical personnel who work in qualified structures. A wrong use of cold therapy, in fact, can lead to the appearance of real burns and the onset of side effects also serious.
General cryotherapy
General cryotherapy is a very delicate technique, carried out in conjunction with the patient's total anesthesia: it is practiced in particular cardio-surgery interventions, in which the patient's temperature drops below 30 ° C. It is carried out by means of of double refrigeration boxes, in whose interspace circulates a liquid that evaporates quickly.
Localized cryotherapy
Localized cryotherapy is much simpler and is used by directly applying ice to the injured part to decrease inflammation and relieve pain.
The cold, however, if used improperly, can create serious side effects.
Systemic cryotherapy
Systemic cryotherapy (also known as Whole Body Cryotherapy or WBC) is a particular cryotherapy technique used mostly in the aesthetic and sports fields, even if, lately, several doctors propose its use also in the medical field.
This type of cryotherapy is used in the sports field to reduce pain and inflammation in case of trauma, injuries, muscle and tendon stiffness and overload.
Furthermore, as mentioned, systemic cryotherapy is also used in the aesthetic field (a use which, however, is widespread above all in the United States) where it is used to keep the skin young.
Systemic cryotherapy can basically be carried out by:
- A two-chamber cryochamber.
- A cryosauna.
The two-room cryochamber consists of a first chamber in which the temperature is at -60 ° C and of a second chamber in which the temperature drops to -130 ° C.
The patient must enter the first chamber and remain there for thirty seconds; after this short period of time the patient passes to the next room where he can stay for a maximum of three minutes (the time of stay will be decided by the doctor).
Low temperatures are reached through the use of liquid nitrogen (-196 ° C) contained in special tanks.
The cryosauna, on the other hand, consists of a sort of cylinder in which it is possible to accommodate only one person at a time. However, the use of the cryosauna is believed to be less safe than the two-chamber cryochamber.
Curiosity
In Poland, systemic cryotherapy is considered a medical treatment in all respects, so much so that the local health service grants reimbursement to cover part of the costs incurred by patients to undergo this form of medical therapy.
it is fundamental: contrary to what one might imagine, slow cooling could entail side effects of greater entity than rapid cooling, due to the fact that it is not possible to control and monitor the results that could derive from it.Rapid freezing implies a cooling of the intracellular liquid, which alters proteins, enzymes and trans-membrane exchanges: the resulting effect is controlled and unequivocal (not surprisingly, in fact, rapid freezing cryotherapy, as we will see in later, it is used for the treatment of warts and acne without causing scars.) In this technique, the temperature drops by 50 ° C below zero per minute: in this way, ice crystals are created between the cells.
Slow freezing, on the other hand, does not give precise results, because in most cases it is not possible to control the ensuing effects: in fact, crystals are created between cell and cell that cause non-quantifiable damage, because neither can be estimated. "extent nor the severity of the damage produced.
