When an injury takes you out of the game, recovery is the top priority. It takes time, and you need to do it right. Whether you need surgery or just a time-out to let your body heal, there are a number of ways you can be proactive to support your recovery. In addition to hydrating, ensuring proper nutrition, and getting ample rest, one way to complement your recovery is with hot and cold compression therapy. (1) Of course, always follow your doctor’s orders to apply the appropriate treatments at the right time.

Let’s take a look at how hot and cold compression therapy can help support your recovery.

Level Up from RICE

You might be familiar with using the RICE method—rest, ice, compression, and elevation—for sports injuries. (2) If so, you know the story: making an ice bag, trying to arrange it to contour to the odd angles of your body, sitting still while the ice melts. It’s not comfortable or convenient. What if you could make it better? 

Modern technology has evolved beyond ice packs and compression bandages, allowing you to combine therapeutic cold and active compression into a single hands-free system. The clinically proven Game Ready System integrates cold and compression therapies to help reduce pain and edema—outperforming conventional rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE) methods.† 

In addition to active cold and compression—like the kind you can get with the Game Ready GRPro 2.1 device—you can also add therapeutic heat or contrasting heat and cold to your recovery strategy, but only when the time is right, so check with your doctor or athletic trainer. The MED4 Elite device offers four types of therapy: cold, hot, contrast, and compression.† These systems support recovery not only in terms of the efficacy of hot and cold compression therapy but also comfort with body-conforming wraps and mess-free treatment that keeps you dry. 

Reduce Reliance on Medication

If you have a serious injury, you might be prescribed opioid medication to help manage pain. If one of your goals with your healthcare team is discontinuing medication as soon as possible, whether because of side effects or concerns about addiction, consider cold compression therapy. Clinical study results show that the Game Ready products reduce patient opioid consumption post-operatively and may allow for earlier discontinuation of opioid medications in patients.†

Recover Like a Pro

You approach your sport like a pro, so why not treat your recovery the same way? Pro athletes and trainers rely on a variety of approaches, including hot and cold compression therapy, to support recovery.

Cold and compression help reduce pain and swelling during the acute stages of recovery. Therapeutic heat might be used later, after inflammation has subsided. Understanding when to use each type of therapy is important for optimizing recovery. (3) Once again, this is where following professional advice is key.

Game Ready products are an injury and post-op treatment system of choice for thousands of orthopedic specialists, physical therapists, athletic trainers, and professional sports teams around the world.† This same technology is available to you. Ditch the messy ice packs and enjoy the comfort and convenience of a system that does all the work for you.

Take Control of Your Recovery

One of the most challenging aspects of being sidelined is feeling like you have less control. With hot and cold compression therapy, you can be proactive with your recovery. You still have to wait for your body to heal, but at least you’ll know that you’re taking steps that might make your recovery smoother and faster. Clinical study results show that Game Ready products may increase patient satisfaction with the post-operative recovery process.†

How to Get Game Ready

Game Ready is available to anybody with a prescription. You can even purchase a unit for home use whenever you need it. If you’re recovering from an injury or surgery, you might also be able to access Game Ready in a clinical setting, so check with your physical therapist or athletic trainer.

Every recovery is different, but you can get an idea of the typical journey—and how Game Ready helps—in our free resource, The Game Ready Guide to Knee Surgery Recovery.

 

Game Ready Guide to Knee Surgery | Game Ready

 

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References

  1. Youngblood Gregory S. How to optimize recovery time after a sports injury. Mayo Clinic. September 30, 2024.
  2. RICE method for injury. Cleveland Clinic. June 30, 2025. 
  3. Ice vs. heat: What is best for your pain? Cleveland Clinic. February 5, 2025.