Fibromyalgia

Whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) is known to be effective in reducing pain and inflammatory status, improving several metabolic parameters such as thermogenesis, lipid profile, insulin sensitivity and glucose utilisation but also depression, anxiety and sleep quality. Cycles of WBC have been shown to reduce fatigue, disease activity and pain in patients with rheumatic, metabolic, neurological and post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) conditions. Despite important limitations of the available studies, growing scientific evidence indicates that WBC effectively reduces fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms, particularly due to its rapid anti-inflammatory effect. In addition, preliminary data seems to suggest that the positive effects of WBC on pain, fatigue, sleep and psychological aspects (mood and anxiety) may last on average 3–4 months after treatment discontinuation. For this reason, WBC has the potential to boost rehabilitation programmes in achieving functional outcomes in FM patients, which seems attractive in terms of the cost-effectiveness of rehabilitation. Moreover, the high compliance and highly positive perception of the treatment reported by FM patients in most studies seem to make WBC a preferred component of the rehabilitation programme, which appears crucial in the long-term management of this chronic condition.