Cold Therapy and the Effect on Pain and Physiological Parameters in Patients Recovering from Spine Surgery: A Randomized Prospective Study

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to determine the effect of cold therapy (CT) on pain and physiological parameters after spine surgery. Materials and Methods: This study was a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Study participants were randomly assigned to either a control group or a CT group. The outcome measured was pain intensity rated by a numeric rating scale. Psychological outcome measures were considered secondary. Results: Thirty-eight patients in each group completed the study. No statistically significant difference was found between the pain scores of patients in the CT and those in the control group during the 24-h period following surgery (group: F = 0.01, p = 0.922). However, it was found that the pain scores of patients in the CT group were significantly lower than those in the control group during the 48-h period (group: F = 10.59, p = 0.002). Conclusion: CT reduced pain scores during the 48-h period following spine surgery. Our findings support the use of CT as an adjuvant therapy in pain management.