Effect of whole-body cryotherapy on the rheological parameters of blood in older women with spondyloarthrosis

BACKGROUND: Cryotherapy is a physiotherapy method used to treat back pain in older persons. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the changes in the rheological parameters of blood in older women with spondyloarthrosis, who underwent whole-body cryotherapy. METHODS: The experimental group comprised 69 older women with lumbar spondyloarthrosis, aged between 65 and 70 years. Due to the methodology of the procedure, the experimental group was randomly divided into three groups. Each group underwent two weeks of different types of physiotherapy: only whole-body cryotherapy (22 women); only kinesitherapy (23 women); and both cryotherapy and kinesitherapy (24 women). The control group comprised 25 women who did not undergo any form of therapy. The evaluation of the rheological properties of the blood encompassed measurements of the plasma viscosity, the erythrocyte elongation and aggregation indices, and the level of fibrinogen. RESULTS: The conducted rheological tests revealed a significant decrease in the erythrocyte elasticity and aggregation indices only in the group of women who had undergone both whole-body cryotherapy and kinesitherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Applying whole-body cryotherapy to older women with spondyloarthrosis decreases the elasticity of erythrocytes and, despite favourable changes in the aggregation parameters, problems with perfusion may still appear. For this reason, the benefit of using whole-body cryotherapy in these persons is debatable.