Cryotherapy Benefits Ankylosing Spondylitis Patients – AMJ
Therapy Area
Allergy & Immunology WHOLE-BODY cryotherapy significantly improves pain, function, and disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, a new meta-analysis finds. Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease marked by persistent pain, spinal stiffness, and progressive joint deformity. While pharmacological treatments remain the cornerstone of management, interest in nonpharmacological adjunct options has grown considerably. Whole-body cryotherapy (WBC), which exposes the body to extremely low temperatures for short durations, has attracted attention for its potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. However, until now, robust evidence supporting its use in AS has been limited. A systematic review and meta-analysis pooled data from five studies involving 310 patients with AS. Researchers searched four major databases including PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase for studies published up to November 2024, following PRISMA guidelines and registering the protocol in PROSPERO. Intervention protocols across the included studies varied in temperature, ranging from -60°C to -10°C, and in session duration, from 80 seconds to three minutes. Despite this variability, the meta-analysis identified a consistent therapeutic effect, with Tau-squared estimated at zero, indicating no dispersion of true effects across studies.
Published: April 8, 2026 5:52 pm
Source: European Medical Journal — Read original