WHOLE-BODY cryotherapy significantly improves pain, function, and disease activity in patients with ankylosing spondylitis, a new meta-analysis finds.
Whole-Body Cryotherapy as an Adjunct Therapy for Ankylosing Spondylitis
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.
What the Research Found
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.
Whole-body cryotherapy produced statistically significant improvements across several key outcome measures. Disease activity scores, as measured by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS), improved significantly (p < 0.001 and p = 0.015, respectively). Functional outcomes assessed by the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) also improved (p = 0.006), as did pain intensity measured on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) (p = 0.005).
Clinical Implications
Despite the clinical improvements observed, whole-body cryotherapy did not produce a significant effect on C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (p = 0.684). This finding suggests that while WBC may modulate pain pathways and functional capacity, its influence on systemic inflammatory markers in ankylosing spondylitis warrants further investigation.
The authors conclude that whole-body cryotherapy represents a promising nonpharmacological adjunct for patients with ankylosing spondylitis, particularly for those seeking complementary approaches to managing pain and physical function. They note that further research is needed to standardize treatment protocols and assess long-term efficacy and tolerability before WBC can be broadly integrated into clinical practice.
Reference
Saidane O et al. Efficacy of whole-body cryotherapy in ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review with meta-analysis. J Integr Complement Med. 2026;32(2):134–142.
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