Table 2.

Degenerative diseases

Author, date	Study design	Study population	Intervention	Outcomes	Complications
Aciksoz et al., 2017 [37]	Randomized	OA N = 32 LC N = 32 heat N = 32 control	LC (cold pack) for 20 min 2 × a day for 3 weeks	Pain reduction: both the cold and heat treatment groups had a decrease in pain VAS at rest, on movement, and at sleep Disease activity: cold application showed significant improvements in physical mobility, emotional reactions, pain, and energy using the Nottingham Health Profile	43.7% of participants noted some discomfort
Nugraha et al., 2015 [41]	Randomized	Chronic low back pain N = 28 WBC − 67 °C N = 29 WBC − 5 °C	WBC at − 67 °C or − 5 °C for 3 min 1 × a day, 10 days	Pain reduction: WBC at − 67 °C reduced pain VAS, pain perception scale, and pain disability index while WBC at − 5 °C reduced pain VAS and pain disability index	None reported
Ma et al., 2013 [42]	Randomized	Adhesive capsulitis N = 15 WBC + rehab N = 15 control (rehab)	WBC at − 110 °C for 4 min 2 × a day, 3 × a week for 4 weeks	Pain reduction: WBC and control group had a decrease in pain VAS (3.5 cm and 2.3 cm, respectively), with a significantly greater decrease in the WBC group than the control group ROM: WBC and control group had an increase in ROM with a significantly greater increase in the WBC group than the control group	None reported
Denegar et al., 2010 [39]	Randomized, within subject	OA N = 34, 5 different treatments (heat cryocuff, cold cryocuff, contrast cryocuff, hot pack, and no treatment control–rest)	LC (cryocuff) for 20 min 2 × a day, 5 days; no temps reported	Pain reduction: compared to the control group, cold cryocuff therapy had a reduction in the KOOS-pain and VAS pain scores	None reported
Dantas et al., 2019 [40]	Randomized	OA N = 30 LC N = 30 control (placebo ice pack)	LC (ice pack) for 20 min 1 × a day, 4 days	Pain reduction: both the ice pack and placebo ice pack filled with sand had a decrease in pain (VAS), but no significant differences between groups	None reported
Clarke et al., 1974 [38]	Randomized	OA N = 17 ice N = 17 short-wave diathermy N = 16 placebo	LC (ice) 3 × a week for 3 weeks; no temps or length of application reported	Pain reduction: at end of treatment (3 weeks), ice had a significant decrease in pain compared to short-wave diathermy and placebo. Significance lost at 3-month follow-up, where all treatments had decrease in pain	None reported
García-Espinoza et al., 2017 [43]	Prospective	Myofascial pain syndrome N = 20 WBC	WBC at − 160 °C for 3 min 1 × a day, 4 × a week for 5 weeks	Pain reduction: Immediately after WBC, there was a decrease in VAS pain and increase in pain threshold Inflammation: no changes in IL-10 and TNF-α	None reported

OA osteoarthritis, LC local cryotherapy, WBC whole-body cryotherapy, VAS Visual Analogue Scale, ROM range of motion, KOOS Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score