How to use your Game Ready device at home: the practical guide
How to use your Game Ready device at home: the practical guide
Patient Resources · Kolde · Reading time: 10 min
1. What your Game Ready device looks like
The device provided by Kolde is the Game Ready® (model GRPro 2.1), a reference in cryocompression used both in medical settings and by elite athletes. Good news: it is made up of just four parts.
- The main console: the central "box". It holds a reservoir where you put ice and water, and a pump that circulates the cold liquid. It is compact, light, and sits on the floor next to your sofa or bed.
- The connecting hose: it links the console to your wrap. Both the cold water and the compression air flow through it.
- The anatomical wrap: the piece you wear over the operated area. Depending on your surgery, you will receive a suitable wrap: knee, shoulder, ankle or hip. It is designed to fit the shape of the limb concerned.
- The power cable: standard, to plug into any wall socket.
2. On delivery day
Our team comes to your home at a time agreed when you book. Delivery always includes:
- Set-up of the device in the room of your choice (ideally next to where you will rest most often: sofa, armchair, bed)
- An in-person demonstration: we fill the reservoir with you, fit the wrap, and show you how to start a session. You ask all your questions.
- A QR code that you scan with your phone: it opens a tutorial video that is always available, to watch or rewatch whenever you like.
- A briefing on the settings: temperature, duration, compression intensity. We adjust them with you according to what your surgeon or physiotherapist has advised.
Allow around 20 to 30 minutes for this first set-up. When the team leaves, you are ready to go.
3. Preparing a session, step by step
Here is the routine you will repeat several times a day. Once you have done it two or three times, it becomes automatic.
Fill the reservoir
Open the console lid. First fill with ice cubes up to the indicated mark (about two thirds), then top up with cold tap water up to the "max" mark. Tip: filling the ice first, then adding the water, avoids overflows.
Plug in the device
Connect the power cable to the console and to a wall socket. You will see an indicator light come on.
Fit the wrap
Position the wrap over the operated area. Important tip: if your skin is sensitive (very common after surgery), place a thin garment (cotton t-shirt, light long sleeve) between your skin and the wrap. This does not reduce the effectiveness of the cold and improves comfort. The wrap should be firm but not so tight that it restricts circulation. If your fingers or toes become cold or numb, loosen it.
Connect the hose
Plug the hose into the console on one side and the wrap on the other. The connectors are simple clips; you hear a "click" when it is in place.
Set the temperature, compression and duration
Temperature: set it between 4 and 5°C.
Compression: between "low" and "medium", according to your tolerance.
Duration: between 20 and 30 minutes per session.
Your physiotherapist or the Kolde team will tell you the settings suited to your recovery phase.
Start
Press "Start". The pump starts up, you feel the cold arrive gradually (not abruptly, that is normal) and the compression alternate.
4. During the session
What is normal
- A feeling of controlled cold, sometimes intense in the first minutes, which gradually becomes more comfortable.
- A rhythmic compression: the pressure rises, holds for a few seconds, drops, starts again. It is designed that way.
- A faint humming of the pump.
What should make you stop immediately
- Sharp pain (different from the usual post-op discomfort)
- Persistent numbness beyond the treated area (cold, unfeeling fingers or toes)
- Abnormally pale, bluish or mottled skin
- A burning sensation or strong tingling
In these cases: stop the session, remove the wrap, and contact our support.
What to do during this time
It is the ideal moment to read, watch a series or a film, work quietly on a laptop, or simply rest. Many patients tell us these sessions become their favourite "break" of the day.
5. How many times a day?
The general recommendation, validated by most orthopaedic post-operative protocols, is 3 to 4 sessions per day during the first days after surgery. It is when swelling and pain are most pronounced that cryocompression brings the most benefit.
- Space the sessions at least 1 hour apart between the end of one session and the start of the next.
- Adapt to fatigue: if a session exhausts you, shorten the next one.
- Follow the rhythm set by your medical team: it is your physiotherapist and your surgeon who adapt the frequency and duration of the protocol to your recovery.
6. Safety: the golden rules
6 simple rules to keep in mind
7. Daily maintenance
- At the end of each day: empty the reservoir, then dry the device with a dry cloth. Never add anything other than water and ice: no soap or any other product.
- The wrap: do not apply any product to it. Always let it dry open, flat: never store it folded shut, as this creates stains on the cover.
- Check the connections: make sure the hose is properly clipped and the cable is not bent.
- After each session: disconnect the wrap and the hose from the device. This prevents you from tripping over the hose or knocking the device over.
- Storage: always store the device with the lid open, so it air-dries.
8. When you have a problem
You are never alone during your rental:
- 24/7 support on WhatsApp: our main channel. We reply quickly, at any hour: technical question, doubt, unusual sensation, breakdown.
- Extra ice: if you run low, you can restock easily (corner shop or delivery). We can tell you how.
- Technical breakdown: very rare: if the device stops working, we replace it quickly, at your home, at no extra cost.
Our commitment: that you never lose a session because of a logistical issue.
9. Preparing the return of the device
At the end of your rental period, it is simple:
- Let us know 24 to 48 hours in advance (a message is enough) to arrange the collection slot.
- Empty the reservoir of water and ice.
- Leave the wrap open and the hose nearby the console.
We come to your home, we dismantle, we take it away. You have nothing else to do. And if you wish to extend? Just a message, and we extend your rental.
Your Game Ready® device is designed to be simple to use, safe and effective. Three to four sessions per day, 20 to 30 minutes each, alongside the care recommended by your medical team, and you give yourself the best chance of a comfortable recovery.
And if ever you have a doubt, about a setting or a sensation, remember: our support is reachable at any time.
Game Ready at home: how Kolde rental works
Kolde is a home-rental service for the Game Ready® cryocompression device, for the period between leaving the clinic and getting back to normal life: delivery and set-up at home, training on arrival, 24/7 WhatsApp support, collection at the end of the rental, and no deposit required.
This article is for information only. It does not replace the advice of your surgeon, doctor or physiotherapist. Always follow the recommendations of your medical team.