Abstract
The effects of extreme cold on the human body are not fully understood, there are also no reports on the effect of cryogenic temperatures on the levels of erythropoietin (EPO) and interleukin 3 (IL-3), two important factors that regulate hematopoiesis. Aim: determination of changes in peripheral blood cell counts and EPO and IL-3 levels induced by a series of 10, 20 and 30 standard whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) treatments. The study involved 45 men, experimental group (EXP, n = 30) subjected to 30 WBC treatments (−130°C, treatment duration: 3 minutes) and a control group (CON, n = 15). Blood samples were collected before the series of treatments and after 10, 20 and 30 treatments. After 10 and 20 treatments we observed lower red blood cell counts and hematocrit and hemoglobin levels compared to baseline (p<0.05) and the control group (p<0.05). Additionally we observed an increase in hemoglobin concentration in plasma (p<0.05), and bilirubin after 10 and 20 treatments, and a decrease in plasma concentration of haptoglobin after 10, 20 and 30 treatments (p<0.05). The number of leukocytes was higher after 10 and 20 WBC treatments compared to baseline and the CON group. EPO concentration in plasma was elevated and the concentration of IL-3 was lower after 10, 20 and 30 WBC treatments. The decrease in indices of the erythrocytic system, plasma hemoglobin and bilirubin, with a simultaneous decrease in haptoglobin concentrations after 10 and 20 WBC treatments, may be due to increased intravascular hemolysis. At the same time there was a small, but statistically significant increase in the concentration of EPO stimulated erythropoiesis which could facilitate a return of erythrocytic system indices to initial levels after 30 WBC treatments. Changes in the white blood cell system showed transient mobilization of this system under the influence of WBC.
Highlights
Cryotherapy and cryostimulation have gained in popularity in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal overload in competitive sports and sports medicine, and the rejuvenation of healthy individuals to accelerate recovery and increase resistance
As shown in previous studies, the effect of cryotherapy may depend on the number of treatments applied [17,21,26,27], so the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of repeated exposure to the cryogenic temperatures used in a series of standard 10, 20 and 30 whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) treatments (2130uC, 3 min) on changes in key peripheral blood cell counts and levels of erythropoietin (EPO) and interleukin 3 (IL-3), i.e cytokines having a significant effect on hematopoiesis
There were no changes in mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) in either group during the whole period
Summary
Cryotherapy and cryostimulation have gained in popularity in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal overload in competitive sports and sports medicine, and the rejuvenation of healthy individuals to accelerate recovery and increase resistance. There are a lot of papers and articles reporting the effect of cryogenic temperatures on changes in the bodies of individuals with various diseases [2,3,4,5,6]. Research is often conducted on small groups, with significant differences in procedures in which cryostimulation (or cryotherapy) is often used in combination with other forms of treatment or as part of physical training. This does not allow unambiguous interpretation of results to assess the impact of cryogenic temperatures on the human body. Very often changes observed after WBC are interpreted with reference to the results obtained after the application of temperatures close to zero, such as immersion or swimming in cold water [7,8,9]
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