Raimondo Leone | Università degli Studi "La Sapienza" di Roma (original) (raw)
Papers by Raimondo Leone
The Perspective of Whole Body Cryotherapy in Rheumatic Dis- eases: A Narrative Review, 2024
Objective: Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) consists in using cold application as a form of physical ... more Objective: Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) consists in using cold application as a form of physical therapy to reduce pain and inflammation levels. Data source: This narrative review reports data from trials studying the role of WBC in treating rheumatologic diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Fibromyalgia (FM), Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and Chronic Pain. The systematic literature research was conducted on the past ten years. The main search keywords were
Journal of clinical Rheumatology and Arthritis , 2023
In this short article we will address the case of the application of WBC in combination with drug... more In this short article we will address the case of the application of WBC in combination with drug therapy in a patient with psoriatic arthritis. Through the analysis of objective improvement (inflammatory indices) and subjective improvement (improvement of the social dimension), the anthropological approach shows how the cure passes first of all from the achievement of the patient's well-being, understood as "being well" with oneself and with others. This emotional, psychological and relational improvement also leads to an improvement in the clinical picture, as the tables show.
Journal of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, 2023
Cold therapy application is commonly used to relieve pain symptoms, to reduce inflammation in chr... more Cold therapy application is commonly used to relieve pain symptoms, to reduce inflammation in chronic diseases and damage in injuries at the musculoskeletal level. Two types of technologies, Partial Body Cryotherapy (PBC) or Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC), are available in the market. This narrative review reports data from trials exploring WBC in Sport and in physical activity with the aim to show limitations and effectiveness in healthy subjects performing sport activity. The systematic search was conducted on the past ten years. The search keywords were "Whole Body Cryotherapy" OR "Cryogenic chamber therapy" OR "Cryostimulation" AND "Sport" OR "Exercise" OR "Athlete" OR "Physical Activity." The sample size, subject's age and gender, year of publication, duration and temperature of exposition, physical activity and outcomes were extracted. 15 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data on 265 subjects aged between 20 to 56 years were reported. The WBC protocols covered temperatures from-20 to-120 degrees Celsius. Exposure times ranged from 1 minute to 3 minutes. The cryostimulation sessions were coupled to normal daily recreational activities or, in the case of athletes, competitive activities during the competition season. WBC is a safe procedure and no major adverse events neither alteration of vital parameters were reported. The benefits have been found especially in post-exercise DOMS. Since many aspects need to be clarified a research agenda has been produced to answer crucial questions. In conclusion WBC seems to be a useful tool in Sport Medicine. However, further studies are necessary to establish standardized protocols.
Beyond Rheumatology 2022; 4 (3): e439 , 2022
In this brief article we have to start looking at the patient as a person and at the complexity o... more In this brief article we have to start looking at the patient as a person and at the complexity of the situation he or she is handing over to us. After setting some coordinates on medical anthropology, we will try to understand how it can be of help to the rheumatologist, what new perspectives arise from the dialogue between these two disciplines. Medical Anthropology shows how every individual in every social context perceives, interprets, and deals with illness and health in a manner closely linked to personal experience and the socio-cultural environment of which he or she is a part; it recovers the old holistic paradigm of ancient and primitive and folk medicine, the reunification of soul and body, the global study of the person. In this perspective, the issue of pain emerges, particularly in rheumatology (we have to consider that in Italy there are about 4 million patients with arthrosis, the most widespread chronic degenerative rheumatic disease, about 400,000 those with rheumatoid arthritis, and at least 600,000 who are affected by other diseases of great clinical relevance, such as psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus and scleroderma). Starting from the assumption that man is not a machine, nor is his pain the result of a series of mechanisms, we could assume that between man and his pain there is the ambivalence of the relationship that unites man to the world. Pain affects man's identity, often shattering it, thus becoming the disease to be cured. In this perspective, it can never be considered as something good, something that adds to a person's life. Pain, therefore, being a multiple reality, needs to be inserted in the relationship that the subject has with himself, the socio-cultural uses that he has assimilated, elements from which the physician cannot prescind.
The Perspective of Whole Body Cryotherapy in Rheumatic Dis- eases: A Narrative Review, 2024
Objective: Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) consists in using cold application as a form of physical ... more Objective: Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) consists in using cold application as a form of physical therapy to reduce pain and inflammation levels. Data source: This narrative review reports data from trials studying the role of WBC in treating rheumatologic diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Fibromyalgia (FM), Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) and Chronic Pain. The systematic literature research was conducted on the past ten years. The main search keywords were
Journal of clinical Rheumatology and Arthritis , 2023
In this short article we will address the case of the application of WBC in combination with drug... more In this short article we will address the case of the application of WBC in combination with drug therapy in a patient with psoriatic arthritis. Through the analysis of objective improvement (inflammatory indices) and subjective improvement (improvement of the social dimension), the anthropological approach shows how the cure passes first of all from the achievement of the patient's well-being, understood as "being well" with oneself and with others. This emotional, psychological and relational improvement also leads to an improvement in the clinical picture, as the tables show.
Journal of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, 2023
Cold therapy application is commonly used to relieve pain symptoms, to reduce inflammation in chr... more Cold therapy application is commonly used to relieve pain symptoms, to reduce inflammation in chronic diseases and damage in injuries at the musculoskeletal level. Two types of technologies, Partial Body Cryotherapy (PBC) or Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC), are available in the market. This narrative review reports data from trials exploring WBC in Sport and in physical activity with the aim to show limitations and effectiveness in healthy subjects performing sport activity. The systematic search was conducted on the past ten years. The search keywords were "Whole Body Cryotherapy" OR "Cryogenic chamber therapy" OR "Cryostimulation" AND "Sport" OR "Exercise" OR "Athlete" OR "Physical Activity." The sample size, subject's age and gender, year of publication, duration and temperature of exposition, physical activity and outcomes were extracted. 15 articles met the inclusion criteria. Data on 265 subjects aged between 20 to 56 years were reported. The WBC protocols covered temperatures from-20 to-120 degrees Celsius. Exposure times ranged from 1 minute to 3 minutes. The cryostimulation sessions were coupled to normal daily recreational activities or, in the case of athletes, competitive activities during the competition season. WBC is a safe procedure and no major adverse events neither alteration of vital parameters were reported. The benefits have been found especially in post-exercise DOMS. Since many aspects need to be clarified a research agenda has been produced to answer crucial questions. In conclusion WBC seems to be a useful tool in Sport Medicine. However, further studies are necessary to establish standardized protocols.
Beyond Rheumatology 2022; 4 (3): e439 , 2022
In this brief article we have to start looking at the patient as a person and at the complexity o... more In this brief article we have to start looking at the patient as a person and at the complexity of the situation he or she is handing over to us. After setting some coordinates on medical anthropology, we will try to understand how it can be of help to the rheumatologist, what new perspectives arise from the dialogue between these two disciplines. Medical Anthropology shows how every individual in every social context perceives, interprets, and deals with illness and health in a manner closely linked to personal experience and the socio-cultural environment of which he or she is a part; it recovers the old holistic paradigm of ancient and primitive and folk medicine, the reunification of soul and body, the global study of the person. In this perspective, the issue of pain emerges, particularly in rheumatology (we have to consider that in Italy there are about 4 million patients with arthrosis, the most widespread chronic degenerative rheumatic disease, about 400,000 those with rheumatoid arthritis, and at least 600,000 who are affected by other diseases of great clinical relevance, such as psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, lupus and scleroderma). Starting from the assumption that man is not a machine, nor is his pain the result of a series of mechanisms, we could assume that between man and his pain there is the ambivalence of the relationship that unites man to the world. Pain affects man's identity, often shattering it, thus becoming the disease to be cured. In this perspective, it can never be considered as something good, something that adds to a person's life. Pain, therefore, being a multiple reality, needs to be inserted in the relationship that the subject has with himself, the socio-cultural uses that he has assimilated, elements from which the physician cannot prescind.