What Is Cold Therapy and How Does it Promote Healing?

In its most general form, cold therapy involves exposing your body to cold temperatures to help with rehabilitation. New technology, like the NICE1 Cold + Compression Therapy System, allows for effective, efficient, and mobile treatment of injuries.

Read on for deeper insight if you’re considering cold therapy for yourself or a loved one, and contact the specialists at Medcom Group, ltd. today to get started right away.

Cold Therapy and Cold Therapy Machines

The traditional method of cold therapy involves submerging your body into cold water that is approximately 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit or colder, but it often involves other methods. This type of therapy can benefit any kind of person, not just athletes, and improve physical and mental health.

Cold therapy is hugely beneficial but has traditionally been inconvenient due to the required space, equipment, time, and stationary nature. Nowadays, cold therapy machines like the NICE1 Cold & Compression Therapy System make this rehab easy.

Benefits of Cold Therapy Machines

Key benefits of cold therapy include:

• Pain management by desensitizing nerves
• Reduced inflammation, fatigue, and swelling of injuries and sensitive areas post-surgery.

More broadly, many benefits have been reported for the mind and body, including:

• Boosting the immune system
• Lowering the risk of infection
• Reduction of muscle pain and stiffness after exercise
• Reduction of swelling and inflammation
• Reduction of stress
• Stabilization of metabolism
• Improved sleep
• Improved focus

Cold therapy machines further benefit by introducing a lightweight, portable solution with a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use functionality. The NICE1 uses cold fluid to circulate a constant temperature between 43°F - 59°F while applying compression across three different pressure levels.

Cold therapy combined with compression rehabilitation has never been easier or more accessible!

How to Use the NICE1 Cold Therapy Machines

You will find a thorough description of all the equipment and steps required to properly operate a cold machine in the user manual - the NICE1 user manual is widely available electronically.

To begin, you’ll need to:

• Fill the water tank
• Connect a hose to the NICE1
• Connect the hose to the wrap
• Place the wrap on the affected body part
• Connect the machine to a power source

After connecting all of the equipment included with the cold therapy machine and correctly setting it up, the next step will be to adjust your therapy to your desired settings. You can select the cold setting, the amount of compression, the compression type (interval or constant), and the time. You can set manual time to 5 to 40-minute intervals with the NICE1.

The NICE1 Cold + Compression Therapy System circulates cooled water and air through a therapy wrap placed on the injured body part. Cooled water circulates through the therapy wrap and provides precise, consistent, therapeutic thermal therapy. Air inflates the therapy wrap, causing it to compress around the injured body part, which improves the effectiveness of the cold therapy and pushes the swelling out of the joint, which decreases pressure on the nerves, thereby reducing pain. Together, the cold and the compression do a phenomenal job of pain management.

Find more tips and advice about the NICE1 Cold + Compression Therapy System with our help videos on our website.

Potential Dangers?

When used correctly, cold therapy devices should not cause pain or damage to your body. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of injuries after improper usage.

Cold therapy includes applying cold water to your skin for prolonged periods. If done longer than the recommended time, there is a risk of numbness or frostbite in extreme situations. Luckily, the NICE1 Cold Therapy machine has an automatic timer that makes it difficult to over ice.

The best way to remain safe is to get advice from your healthcare provider. Ask a professional about:

• Any medical conditions you have that affect your circulation or decrease your skin sensation as that may make you more susceptible to injury
• The type of therapy to use (hot, cold, and compression)
• How often and how long therapy should be applied
• How long breaks between therapy sessions should last
• How long to stick with the treatment plan

Contact the Experts

Cold therapy is an excellent addition to injury rehabilitation, and it has never been more effective and accessible than now with the NICE1 Cold + Compression Therapy System. Contact our team today to learn how you can rent one for yourself!

Disclaimer

The Medcom Group, ltd. is not responsible for any complications arising from using this machine based on this article; patients should consult a healthcare professional for healthcare advice before performing cold therapy on themselves or another individual.