Back strain, sometimes also called a pulled back muscle, is both painful and inconvenient. It can be caused by a number of factors, including a fall, improper lifting, twisting unexpectedly, or repeatedly bending over. If left untreated, it can lead to inability to perform certain movements, which can impact your daily life. Fortunately, in most cases, back strain is fully treatable.

One critical component to successful back strain treatment is cold and compression therapy.

Why to Use Cold and Compression for Back Strain

The first step to understanding back strain treatment is to learn more about the injury itself. Back strain is caused by tiny tears in the muscle fibers near the spinal cord. These small tears lead to muscle weakness, instability of the spine, and consequently, pain. Torn muscles also lead to inflammation because your body wants to protect itself from further injury.

One of the best ways to treat the pain and inflammation associated with back strain is with cold and compression:

• Cold therapy - Therapeutic cold has been effectively used for decades to reduce the pain and swelling associated with many types of injuries, and back strain is no exception. When cold is applied to the injured area of the back, the blood vessels in the area reflexively constrict, reducing blood flow, which helps reduce swelling and inflammation. The application of cold also impacts nerve endings and makes them less sensitive to pain, resulting in a temporary relief from the discomfort associated with back strain.

• Active compression - The body naturally pumps blood and other fluids to bring oxygen and nutrients to all of your tissues. When muscles and ligaments become damaged, the associated swelling reduces the ability to pump freshly oxygenated blood to the area and cellular debris away. The result is edema, or the buildup of excess fluid around an injury. This contributes to additional swelling, pain, and can also impact range of motion. Active compression mimics the body's natural pumping mechanism to maintain the flow of fluids and draw edema away from the injury.

The combination of cold therapy with active compression creates an even greater therapeutic effect because the cold is allowed to penetrate deeper and provide longer lasting benefits.

Game Ready's patented technology provides exactly this combination. A dual-chamber system allows cold water and air to simultaneously flow through wraps that cover the entire back area. The water flows through an ice reservoir to maintain a consistent temperature, while the active compression improves the flow of blood and other fluids.

If you'd like to learn more about Game Ready and how it can help you recover from back strain, ask your doctor about renting a system for home use or find a provider in your area.

A spinal cord injury can be very scary, even if it's relatively minor. Damage to the spinal cord can cause numbness, tingling, loss of sensation, and a range of other symptoms that are quite alarming if you don't know why they are happening. Fortunately, many people make a full recovery from minor spinal cord injuries.

What You Need to Know about Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

1. Inflammation control is critical - After an injury, your body's natural response is to become inflamed around the damaged tissues in order to protect them from further injury. Although meant to be a protective mechanism, excess inflammation leads to unwanted swelling, pain, and edema. Control inflammation with the use of cold therapy and active compression. Therapeutic cold helps reduce pain by deadening nerve endings, and swelling is decreased as the blood vessels constrict. Active compression helps move edema away from the injury by enhancing the body's natural pumping effect.

2. Recovery takes time - Healing after any injury takes time. Your body needs a lot of energy to repair damaged tissues and it's important to get sufficient rest to allow this natural process to occur unimpeded. Be patient during your recovery process and don't expect to be able to do too much too soon. If you follow your physical therapist's recommendations, you will return to normal activity more quickly.

3. Early rehab equals faster recovery - Your doctor will probably recommend that you do acute physical therapy as soon as possible after your injury, especially if it includes a hospital stay. The exercises you will learn will help your muscle stay strong so your later recovery phases are easier.

4. You might need supportive devices - For some types of spinal cord injuries, your doctor might recommend a neck brace or back brace to help support the spine. The suggested use of such devices might range from a few days after the injury to several weeks or months depending on the extent of the damage and your doctor's treatment protocol. It's important to stop wearing the brace when your medical team says to as immobility or restricted movement can impede the recovery process if the best course of action is activity.

If your doctor recommends the use of cryotherapy and active compression to aid your spinal injury rehabilitation, talk to them about Game Ready. Our patented system offers two types of back wraps for either the lumbar back region or the upper pectorals, neck and cervical thoracic spine to provide simultaneous cold and compression. Get in touch today to learn more, or find a provider near you.

Spinal cord injuries can range from relatively minor conditions such as whiplash to extreme damage that causes full or partial paralysis. For the acute injuries that can be treated, you want to recover as quickly as possible to regain range of motion, eliminate pain, and return to normal daily activity.

As with any other type of injury, always follow your doctor's instructions closely, even if you don't feel pain or discomfort.

How to Quickly Recover from Spinal Cord Injuries

The timeline for your recovery will depend on the extent of the injury, but there are a few steps you can take to help speed up the healing process:

• Immobilization - Typically after an acute spinal cord injury, the neck and/or back are immobilized to help prevent further damage and ensure that there is nothing that can impact the spinal cord with movement. This phase of the recovery process typically does not last long, but it is important to remain immobilized as long as your doctor recommends.

• Rest - Your body requires a lot of energy to heal itself. The more rest you can get during your recovery, the more energy will be available to repair damaged tissues.

• Cold therapy - One of the side effects of a spinal cord injury is inflammation. This is a natural response that is actually designed to protect your tissues from further damage and help you heal more quickly. However, when inflammation is not controlled, it can actually lengthen the recovery process. Cold therapy helps control inflammation by restricting blood flow and limiting swelling. It also helps reduce pain by temporarily deadening nerve endings around the injured area.

• Physical therapy - As you are able to regain the ability to safely move your neck and back after a spinal cord injury, your doctor will recommend physical therapy to help you improve strength, flexibility, and range of motion. Although it may be tempting to force yourself to the limit to recover faster, sometimes it is best to ease into physical therapy and not push yourself too hard. Your doctor or physical therapist can advise the best course of action.

If you have experienced a spinal cord injury, talk to your doctor about using Game Ready to help you recover faster. Our patented technology enables cold therapy to be more effective with the help of active compression. By maintaining a consistent cold temperature, fully enclosing the injured area with specialized wraps, and mimicking the body's natural pumping action, Game Ready can help you return to normal activity faster than ice alone. Locate a provider near you to get started today.

If you are going through spinal cord injury rehabilitation, it's helpful to know what to expect. While your body is healing, you might have limited range of motion or not be able to do some of the daily activities you are used to performing. Knowing what is on the horizon can make this time easier to handle and give you the opportunity to make your recovery process faster.

Spinal cord injuries can be caused by a number of factors, but trauma is the most common. Dealing with the aftermath of this trauma, whether it was a car accident or a fall, adds to the overall stress of injury recovery. Ease some of this burden by educating yourself about the recovery process and reduce fear of the unknown.

Typical Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation

Although every case is different, many patients have common experiences with spinal cord injury rehabilitation. Talk to your doctor about the recovery process for your particular injury, which might include:

• Immobilization - If you have had surgery or a traumatic injury to the spinal cord, you may need to keep all or part of your spinal column immobilized for a period of time to prevent further injury. This may be accomplished with a full back board or neck brace depending on the injury.

• Pain management - Some spinal cord injuries cause reoccuring or intermittent pain. Your healthcare team will advise you on the best way to manage this pain, which might include pharmaceuticals, activity modification, exercises, or cold therapy.

• Physical therapy - Your doctor will recommend exercises that will help you regain range of motion, learn proper posture, and increase strength and flexibility. Although you may need to limit movement for a period of time after the initial injury, regular activity is an important part of the road to recovery.

• Comprehensive treatment - In most cases of spinal cord injury, you will work with a team of healthcare professionals, not just one doctor. This team might include surgeons, occupational therapists, physical therapists, social workers, and psychologists. These people are there to help you navigate the recovery process, so it is important to communicate openly about the challenges you face, including pain.

Spinal cord injury rehabilitation can be a tough process, especially if you have to deal with pain along the way. If you want to reduce pain while limiting the amount of medication required, talk to your healthcare team about the Game Ready cold and compression therapy system. The use of therapeutic cold in combination with targeted compression has been shown to naturally reduce pain and inflammation. Find a provider near you to get started today.