Comparative analysis of the influence of dry sauna bathing and whole-body cryostimulation on motor nerve excitability

Aims
The aim of this study was to determine and compare the effects of dry sauna bathing and whole-body cryostimulation on the motor excitability of the median nerve.

Material and methods
A group of 24 students from the State Higher Vocational School in Nowy Sacz, Poland were studied. The participants were divided into two groups: the first group underwent whole-body cryostimulation, while the second dry sauna therapy. Motor nerve excitability was tested by means of chronaximetry. The rheobase and chronaxie parameters were determined before and immediately after the procedures to check their influence on the examined parameters.

Results
Before the thermal stimuli were applied, there were no significant differences between the studied groups. The mean value of the median nerve rheobase after cryostimulation was significantly higher than after the dry sauna procedure. The changes in the chronaxie parameter, both before and after the treatments, were not statistically significant.

Conclusions
It has been proven that whole-body cryostimula tion increases the threshold of motor nerve excitability in the case of the median nerve. The dry sauna showed the opposite tendency, causing a decrease in the excitability threshold. The results of the tested groups after the procedure were found to be significantly different.