Can Cryotherapy Help with Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Cryotherapy has been a way to control pain since people had access to extreme cold. People use it in so many aspects of their daily lives. From ice packs to treat booboos to freezing teething rings for babies, many of us already incorporate cryotherapy. At Chill Cryotherapy, we also use extreme cold to treat pain. However, our cold chambers expose your entire body to cold at the same time. The result is a more thorough cryotherapy exposure.
While you might use an ice pack to treat a small area, whole body cryotherapy can treat systemic issues. Whole body cryotherapy cools the entire body. You can do it in cold water, or in a supercooled chamber. Supercooled chambers can get to temperatures well below cold water immersion. Because it is known to reduce inflammation and relieve pain, many people wonder if cryotherapy can treat rheumatoid arthritis.
It depends on what you mean by treat. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic condition, which can be managed or treated, but not cured. While future medical advances may change that reality, right now that is reality.
However, rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease. An autoimmune disorder, rheumatoid arthritis directs the immune system to destroy your own body’s tissues. They treat your joints as disease and attack them with both inflammatory factors and oxidative molecules. This not only causes pain and discomfort, but also damage to your joints.
Cryotherapy reduces inflammation, oxidative stress, and swelling. Therefore, it can treat some of the root symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, it can help treat pain. Combined, it can help people deal with the painful symptoms and even help increase range of motion. The immediate pain relief results are temporary, but significant. They last for about an hour, and you can get that immediate relief with local cold therapy, as well.
Cryotherapy may not work for every person with rheumatoid arthritis. However, some people report longer-lasting results from full-body cryotherapy. However, with limited risks of side effects in otherwise healthy people, it may be good therapy to add to your rheumatoid treatment regime.
Talk to your doctor to see if you have any conditions that would make you high-risk during cryotherapy. If not, contact us to set up your sessions. While we cannot guarantee you symptom reduction, we can tell you that enough people report that whole-body cryotherapy helps with their rheumatoid arthritis symptoms to make it worth exploring.
