The aim of this study was to assess the anti-inflammatory effects of local cryotherapy in human non-septic knee arthritis.
In the phase I of the study, patients were randomized to receive either ice (30 min; N = 16) or cold CO
Forty-seven patients were included (17 gouts, 11 calcium pyrophosphate deposition diseases, 13 rheumatoid arthritides, 6 spondyloarthritides). Local ice cryotherapy significantly reduced the IL-6, IL-1β, VEGF, NF-kB-p65, and PG-E2 synovial levels, especially in the microcrystal-induced arthritis subgroup, while only phosphorylated NF-kB-p65 significantly decreased in rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis patients. Cold CO
Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03850392-registered February 20, 2019-retrospectively registered.
These results suggest that local ice cryotherapy reduces IL-6, IL-1β, and VEGF synovial protein levels, mainly in microcrystal-induced arthritis, and potentially through NF-kB and PG-E2-dependent mechanisms.