[Cryotherapy for pain treatment: An overview].

The role of cryotherapy in the treatment of pain has been known since the Egyptians. For fifty years, techniques initially dedicated to the whole body have evolved into more specific approaches by targeting nerve structures. Several indications for the treatment of acute and chronic pain have emerged and are supported by scientific evidence. A reduction in pain for up to several months, a decrease of opioid consumption and an improvement in the physical activity are among the main results reported in the literature. Cryotherapy appears to be an efficient treatment in pain management correlated with a relatively few numbers of side effects.