Main description:

This book entails chapters ranging from cell to clinical studies exploring the state-of-the-art of the molecular and clinical effects of Whole-Body Cryostimulation (WBC). Based on consolidated evidence, WBC is nowadays widely used in elite athletes for recovery from muscle fatigue or injury but, despite growing scientific support, it remains a niche topic in the field of Rehabilitation. At present, WBC is used mostly in eastern Europe as add-on treatment for rheumatological conditions, but recent literature suggests that its positive effects can have a clinically significant impact on a wider range of conditions. The novelty of the book consists of documenting the clinical and functional effects of WBC in a range of conditions including post/long-Covid symptoms, fibromyalgia, rheumatologic, metabolic, psychiatric, sleep and respiratory disorders, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson disease, spasticity.

It addresses clinicians, researchers and postgraduate students, trying to provide evidence-based support for the use of WBC for pain and fatigue reduction, and functioning, mood, quality of sleep improvements in various clinical conditions. The recently unveiled metabolic effects of the chronic exposure to cryogenic temperatures represent cutting-edge research in the field of obesity and diabetes management.

The book describes the work-in-progress of an international panel of experts and provides the latest indications for a safe use of WBC in the clinical setting in different medical conditions. It is about time to pinpoint to the clinical audience the current achievements on this topic together with the limitations of the existing studies, the lack of standard protocols with regard to individual "doses" of cryogenic exposure in specific health conditions and the safety concerns in order to foster research on the application of clinically useful and safe WBC protocols as add-on treatments able to boost rehabilitation programs.

Contents:

Introduction.- 1. Biophysics of cold exposure.- 2. Cellular effects of cold exposure.- 3. Endocrine and Metabolic effects of cold exposure.- 4. Adaptive and Integrative physiological changes.- 5. Physiological adjustments to prolonged or repeated cold exposure.- 6. Immunological and Inflammatory responses.- 7. Cerebral oxygenation.- 8. Metabolites changes.- 9. Microbiota.- Applications in Clinical Conditions.- 10. Musculoskeletal conditions.- 11. Post Covid.- 12. Obesity.- 13. Fibromyalgia.- 14. Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease.- 15. Protocols definition and future research.