Whole body and partial body cryotherapies – lessons from human practice and possible application for horses

Whole body and partial body cryotherapies (WBC and PBC) have been successfully used in human medicine, and currently also are being proposed in veterinary practice. In horses, only the partial body cryotherapy provided in cryosauna is considered, due to the technical conditions. These therapies have been dedicated to human patients with rheumatic and inflammatory diseases as well as an assistance during training in athletes. The anti-inflammatory effects have been demonstrated clinically and indicated by the changes in several hematological and immunological parameters, however, various patterns have been described, depending on the protocols and the treating subjects. The numbers of white blood cells and the differential counts either increased or remained unchanged but the cytokine concentrations generally changed towards various anti-inflammatory profiles and the modifications of immunological molecules having paracrine effects have been reported. In equine practice, local cold therapies have been successfully used, so the therapy in cryosauna, which allows for a much shorter procedure with much lower temperature seems promising.