Cryotherapy, or cold therapy, is known for its interest in top athletes, and is now experiencing an increasingly strong craze in medical and paramedical circles; it is used by different practitioners, from different backgrounds, physiotherapists, sports doctors, osteopaths… (but it is a cure for dermatologists, who have long used it to burn our famous warts…)

For several years, it was thought that it was exclusively dedicated only to high-level athletes and athletes, (who now seek the CEC, or Cryotherapy Whole Body for better muscle recovery) the INSEP having been one of the first centers to use it. Today, cryotherapy has opened up to the “general public” because it can treat many ailments.

Its principle is simple, it is to transform liquid nitrogen into gas which, under pressure, will cause a thermal shock, which will result in a muscle relaxant effect to relax the muscles contracted reflex.

1) A circulatory, lymphatic and blood action, vasomotor, and more precisely vasoconstrictor, that is, it will result from a certain temperature, in the order of -70 degrees celsius, and a certain amount of time, about 1 minute, a progressive spasm of the venous muscle tunic, causing a decrease in the diameter of blood vessels, and thus an increase in blood flow, therefore the venous flow… this will result in a better elimination of toxins located on the inflammated area, such as on ankle sprains.

2) Cold also has an immediate analgesic action, which relieves pain, which can be encountered during episodes of acute blockage, such as lumbago or torticolis. Indeed, there is a stimulation of nociceptors, receptors sensitive to pain, which are found in large quantities in ligaments and muscles, which will send information to the brain, by taking a specific nerve path, at the origin of the release of the famous substance P, secretion that will be carried out only from a certain threshold, is the theory of “gate control”.

In the same treatment, osteopathic manipulations associated with a deep massage (MTP) will be combined using cryogels, rich in camphor, menthol, arnica. (without parabens or preservatives).

3) Cold finally has an anti-inflammatory role, resulting in the elimination of various local chemical mediators, such as histamine, cytokines, enzymes… deposited on the inflammatory focus.

Thus, neurocryostimulation can accompany our osteopathy treatments by generating a natural reflex of the body that will allow a treatment in depth, effective, rapid and durable, acute phase as well as in the chronic phase.