Cryotherapy: freeze the neuropathy away!

I had coffee with a friend last weekend. He makes his living as a personal trainer and during our visit, the conversation turned to holistic therapies for a variety of issues. I, personally, get a monthly massage for the issues stemming from my compression fractures. Unfortunately, the massages don't add back the height I lost, and that really is disappointing, but it is whatever it is. The massages are also helping with the Venclexta-related muscle stiffness in my neck and back. I've not been in quite some time, but I am also an advocate of acupuncture and mokusa (or moxa as it has become known in the Western world), which is the burning of herbs on the skin to promote healing. 

Anyhow, my friend mentioned cryotherapy as a means to alleviate neuropathic issues stemming from sports injuries. That led me to wonder if it would also help folks who have chemotherapy-related neuropathy. So, I headed off to the all-knowing interwebz this week to see if there were any articles or discussions that talked about the benefits of cryotheraphy for these issues so many experience. I was pleased to see that there were a number of articles that did support my friend's claims.

This one comes from Oncology Nursing News and discusses a study conducted in Kyoto, Japan. If you prefer to have your research a little closer to home and by a more familiar name, the Mayo Clinic is working on a study. 

There are a few of cryotherapy clinics in the Cleveland area and I would assume that other cities would have at least one or two. Do some research. Talk to your doctor to see if she or he has any reservations about you exploring this treatment. If it is something that fits into your budget, check it out and see if it works for you. We all could benefit from having a few extra tricks up our sleeves!