If you remember taking a fall during school sports or if you’ve ever sprained an ankle as the result of a wayward high-heel, you’ll probably be no stranger to the familiar ice-pack. And that’s with good reason: for hundreds of years we’ve known about the healing potential of cold therapy. When a cold compress is applied to the local area, the blood vessels narrow and reduce the flow of blood. This helps to combat the swelling and inflammation that are responsible for the pain that accompanies tissue injury.

All well and good, but why the sudden craze for cold therapy? If media coverage and research studies are anything to go by, health treatments that draw upon the benefits of applying cold to the body are enjoying a bracing surge in interest. And for people with multiple sclerosis (MS), this cutting-edge procedure offers a wide range of advantages. If this is the first time you’ve come across cryotherapy, one thing is clear: there’s a lot more going on than pulling a pack of frozen peas from the fridge.

Whether your MS diagnosis is recent or long-standing, investigating new treatments can be a stressful experience. You may be feeling both optimistic and wary. When you’re uncertain about your future and are looking for solutions to your health problems, you need reliable information about the best way to resolve your symptoms. Before you start Googling ‘cryotherapy near me’, read on to find out more about the exciting benefits of this treatment and what it can do for your health and well being.

What is it WBC ?

Whole body cryotherapy (WBC) is the treatment that’s generating all the buzz. Enthusiasts of the procedure stand inside a chamber that encloses the body and surrounds it with air that has been cooled by liquid nitrogen. Each session lasts only a few minutes (less than five is typical), but temperatures fall as low as -150°C. It’s these extreme temperatures that are responsible for the remarkable healing effects of cryotherapy.

And the cost of cryotherapy? At exclusive spas around the world, the well-heeled are spending up to $100 for two minutes in the icy-cold chamber. Elsewhere clients pay between $30-50 per session. This wide range of prices means that WBC suits every budget.

WBC has been proven to offer a wide range of health benefits to athletes and individuals affected by  of a variety of conditions. But there’s one application that is attracting a great deal of recent attention, and that’s in the treatment MS. MS is an auto-immune, degenerative condition that affects the central nervous system.

The main symptoms include neuropathic pain(numbness and tingling), muscular weakness and tremors. MS is also associated with  depression and anxiety. It is hoped that WBC may be able to address many of these symptoms by boosting immune function, reducing inflammation and combating oxidative stress.

WBC and Multiple Sclerosis

Cold baths and showers have long been known to have beneficial effects on the brain. In research studies on people with  depression, once- or twice-daily 2-3 minute cold showers were shown to significantly reduce symptoms [1]. Here’s why this makes sense: cold activates the sympathetic nervous system and this increases blood and brain concentrations of norepinephrine.

Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter and hormone that plays an important role in the body’s fight-or-flight response by optimising the supply of oxygen and glucose to the brain and muscles. This is important for those with  MS  since they are known to have low levels of norepinephrine. Long-standing cases show greater deterioration of the parasympathetic nervous system [2]. While many researchers suggest that the main benefits of WBC derive from boosting norepinephrine, this therapy also  increases body metabolism and the and the production of other hormones such as adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH),  opiomelanocortin (POMC), and β-endorphins and testosterone levels [19].(note: I will explore the link between MS and hormones in more details in other blog posts)

Another way that WBC works is by increasing neuroplasticity. This is the process by which the brain naturally removes old synapses and forms new ones. Synapses are the brain structures that allow nerve cells to send signals to one another. Cooling of the body activates cold-shock proteins in the brain that promote the healthy regulation of synapses [3]. This finding offers the prospect of using cryotherapy to treat various neurodegenerative disorders including MS.

WBC also increases the antioxidant levels in the brain. People with MS are known to show increased oxidative stress and reduced levels of antioxidants [4]. This research has highlighted the importance of oxidative stress to the development of MS and also the potential of WBC to address symptoms and contribute to treatment.

The Benefits of WBC

Among the key benefits of WBC is the reduction of inflammation and the improve the function  of the immune system. These effects are thought to be the result of the increased action of anti-inflammatory cytokines [5]. Norepinephrine also has a potent anti-inflammatory action. It reduces inflammation by inhibiting tumour necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and inflammatory protein 1α [6]. As a result, cryotherapy has been shown to reduce joint inflammation [7].

Cryotherapy can improve muscle and nerve function and alleviate tremors. Individuals with MS  experience greater exercise tolerance as a result of WBC [8]. Increased muscular tone is typical of MS and causes spasms, weakness and stiffness. WBC reduced muscular tone in chronic inflammatory conditions like ankylosing spondylitis by reducing nerve transmission and the reactivity of peripheral nerve endings [9].

WBC can reduce muscle spasticity by reducing hypertonia and hyperreflexia. This is because cooling decreases the sensitivity of muscle spindles to stretch [10]. Cryostimulation enhances the impact of kinesiotherapy by increasing muscular strength and reducing the disability associated with  MS. Among those with MS, fatigue is one of the most debilitating aspects of the condition and the feature that often has the biggest impact upon quality of life [11].

Tremors are a common symptom, affecting up to 60% of people with MS. They are often associated with lesions in the cerebellum or connected pathways. Despite the availability of multiple treatments (both medical and surgical), they remain difficult to resolve [12]. However, WBC has proven to be very beneficial in a range of musculoskeletal conditions including tremors associated with  MS [13].

Reducing body temperature by an average of 1°C significantly lowers nitric oxide (NO) levels. This improves conduction in demyelinated axonal segments [14]. The cooling of tissue reduces the rate of transmission along neurons by decreasing the production of acetylcholine and this inhibits muscular spasms. This may also stimulate inhibitory cells that regulate pain perception in the central nervous system [15, 16].

Side effects and Contraindications

WBC is very well tolerated and is not associated with serious side effects. Over the course of an 8-year period, a hospital in Finland has administered this therapy without ill effect. A number of isolated problems such as skin burns are attributed to improper practices like entering the cryochamber with wet skin or clothing. Important contraindications for this procedure include uncontrolled hypertension, serious coronary disease and circulatory disorders [17] as  well as asthma [19].

As a result of its excellent safety profile, WBC can be recommended to the majority of the population as a safe, beneficial treatment. However, as with any procedure of this nature expert medical opinion should be sought on its suitability. You should not be left alone during WBC ( a healthcare provider should be with you and monitor the treatment).

How Long Should You Spend in the Cryochamber?

One schedule recommends a 12-week programme of 2-minute WBC sessions at -110°C 3 times per week. Over this relatively short period, blood concentrations of norepinephrine can increase by 200-300 times [18].

Future Prospects

Whole body cryotherapy offers a host of potential benefits to MS patients and the coming years are likely to see even more evidence emerged to validate the advantages of this novel therapy. So get back to Google and find a clinic or spa that offers cryotherapy near you. An icy experience awaits.