Have you recently been injured playing sports or engaging in another activity? If so, you likely want to recover as soon as possible so you can eliminate the pain and get back to your normally active lifestyle. While cold therapy—also known as cryotherapy—and compression are two important components on your healing journey, the ideal solution is to combine both for optimal healing by using a device such as the Game Ready ice machine.
Here is why a combination of cryotherapy and compression is the best way to heal and how you can leverage these two techniques.
Why Cryotherapy and Compression?
If you have an activity-related injury such as a strain, sprain, or joint injury, you are likely experiencing inflammation, swelling, and pain. Cold or cryotherapy can bring the temperature down in the affected area which can help with pain and swelling. Compression—such as you may get by wrapping the affected area in an Ace bandage, will also reduce swelling by pushing fluid and blood out of the tissues. Both will keep blood moving more efficiently in the injured parts of the body which facilitates healing.
It has been clinically proven that combining cryotherapy with compression is more effective than using either of the therapies alone. Compression allows the cold therapy to penetrate the affected area at a deeper level and could also help it last longer leading to enhanced results.
Injuries Cryotherapy and Compression Can Be Used For
Not sure what type of injury you should use cryotherapy or compression to treat? Almost any injury that leads to swelling, pain, or inflammation can likely be helped by these two therapies. Specific injuries include sprains, tendonitis, runner’s knee, muscle strain, muscle spasms, and other acute injuries.
How to Combine Cryotherapy and Compression
Using compression therapy together is relatively easy. If you want to simply use the tools you have at home, you can wrap the affected area in an Ace or similar bandage and apply ice packs. Both can be done at the same time.
However, if you’d like to take your healing to the next level or if you find you consistently need these therapies due to your active lifestyle, you should look into a device such as the Game Ready ice machine. This machine provides an easy way to use adjustable cold therapy and compression simultaneously. You can easily monitor pressure, temperature, and treatment time with an easy-to-read screen and make adjustments easily. The device is very portable so you can take it to the gym or with you when you travel and it offers an optional battery pack so you can use it even when you don’t have a power source.
The Game Ready Ice Machine: The Best of Both Worlds
Whether you are recovering from an acute injury or you frequently experience muscle or joint pain due to your active lifestyle, you should consider investing in a cryotherapy and compression device. Not only will you recover faster, but you’ll also be able to take on more as you quickly treat small issues to facilitate harder and more frequent training sessions.