Most people know that RICE is a common prescription to treat injuries. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation are proven to facilitate the healing process after a musculoskeletal injury. All of these components are essential for tissue repair and injury recovery, and some of them can be enhanced to make the recovery process even faster.

Rest and elevation are two factors that cannot be improved, but with advanced technology, cold and compression can be. Cold therapy can be improved with technology that enables constant, consistent cooling to the injured site. Compression therapy can be enhanced with active, pneumatic pressure that creates a pumping effect at the injury site to provide several health benefits.

Five Ways Compression Therapy Accelerates Injury Recovery

The pumping effect that mimics the body's natural muscular movements provides the following injury recovery benefits:

1. Less swelling - Inflammation and swelling are not only uncomfortable, they can also inhibit the healing process. Compression therapy is proven to help reduce swelling, especially in combination with cold therapy.

Cold (cryo) therapy is widely used after a musculoskeletal injury or post-surgery to decrease pain, muscle spasms, edema and swelling. Let’s say you’ve had an ankle or knee injury. You know the drill – get in bed or on the couch, elevate the leg and apply ice to the injured area. You also remember the mess and inconvenience this kind of ice water therapy causes – wet pillows, bedclothes, blankets, etc. Staying compliant with that type of cold therapy is really difficult and that’s just one reason why ice water therapy alone isn’t ideal for recovering from a sports injury.