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 RICE
therapy has never been so easy, and so affordable with such an
effective system. This ingenious system uses a special cooler
that fills with cold water and ice. A tube is connected to the
cooler and to an appropriate Cryo/Cuff, such as the elbow, knee,
shoulder, ankle, etc. After a few minutes of chilling the water,
the cooler is held up and an air valve on the cooler is opened
to allow the iced water to run into the Cryo/Cuff for cold treatment
without the risk of skin damage or the "burning" sensation
often associated with direct ice. Also, the higher the cooler
is raised, the more compression there is around the treated body
part as more water moves into the Cryo/Cuff. The only things
the patient needs to be concerned with are elevation and some
rest for complete RICE therapy.
Once water is in the Cryo/Cuff, the cooler's
air valve is closed and the tube can be disconnected from the
cuff (which has a special built-in shut-off valve) and the cooler
set aside. If the water begins to warm around the Cryo/Cuff,
simply re-attach the tube, place the cooler lower than the Cryo/Cuff,
and open the cooler's air valve. This will return the water from
the Cryo/Cuff to the cooler for re-chilling. The process then
can be repeated as often as necessary or desired. The cooler
also holds enough water and ice to provide 6-8 hours of continuous
treatment.
As simple as it looks, the Cryo/Cuff system
provides for some very serious treatment. In a study of post-op
pain medication, use of the Cryo/Cuff was compared with continuous
crushed ice, and with "Hot Ice" therapy. In both comparisons
Knee Cryo/Cuff patients required significantly less oral and
injectable narcotic analgesics. (Shelbourne KD, et al. Postoperative
Cryotherapy for the Knee in ACl Reconstructive Surgery. Orthapaedics
International Edition 2:2, March/April 1994). In general, it
also was found that "Cold-compression treatment led to less
post-operative swelling of the knee-joint, early return to full
ROM, lower pain scores, lower consumption of analgesics, and
faster return to function." (Schroder, D., Passler HH. Combination
of cold and compression after knee surgery. Knee Surg, Sports
Traumatol, Arthroscopy 93: 1-8, 1994). It should be apparent
the role that the Cryo/Cuff can play in helping people return
to exercise or to sustain an exercise plan when both minor and
major injuries occur. For further details on the Cryo/Cuff
system, visit www.Aircast.com.
Download the PDF report
on cryotherapy.
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