Four procedures, the same result:
fewer painkillers

The exact scope of the result

Across four different procedures, cryocompression lowers the consumption of painkillers.

Four trials, four procedures, different teams and different countries, and the same direction every time.

What that means, and what it does not

In the shoulder trial as in the ACL study, pain scores were comparable between the groups^1,3.

Cryocompression does not therefore remove pain. It allows the same level of comfort to be reached on far less medication.

The side effects of opioids are the mechanical brakes on early mobilisation: nausea, constipation, drowsiness, confusion. A patient on half the morphine is a patient more available for rehabilitation, and rehabilitation is what determines the final outcome. Added to that is the documented risk of prolonged consumption in an opioid-naive patient⁵, which makes every milligram not prescribed useful well beyond the post-operative period.

The one trial that also shows the functional side

A 2024 randomised trial compared dynamic cryocompression against cold packs in 40 patients after total knee arthroplasty, with an identical rehabilitation protocol in both groups⁶.

At day 21, the cryocompression group showed a significantly greater improvement in joint effusion (p = 0.002), in pain during activity (p = 0.005) and on the six minute walk test (p = 0.018)⁶. The survival analysis also showed a faster improvement in flexion (p = 0.011), in extension (p = 0.038) and in knee circumference (p = 0.013)⁶.

It is the only trial in this set that documents effusion, function and perceived pain at once. Both groups improved, cold alone not being useless. It is the addition of dynamic compression that makes the difference.

What it changes in prescription

Three practical consequences.

The useful window is the one in which oedema and pain sustain each other, which is the first two to three weeks. Beyond that, use becomes occasional.

The benefit only exists if the patient can actually use the device at home, between physiotherapy sessions, and not only during hospital hours. That is the most frequent point of failure.

And it is an adjunct. Cryocompression reduces the quantity of analgesia consumed and improves the conditions of mobilisation and rehabilitation, without standing in for any of the three.

The protocol in practice

Before prescribing, check the usual contraindications to cold and compression, the skin condition over the operated area, any sensory impairment, and the patient's ability to follow the session parameters at home.

Kolde at the patient's home

Kolde rents the Game Ready® GRPro 2.1 directly to the patient's home, with the anatomical wrap matching the operated area, delivery, set-up and a hands-on walkthrough by a member of the team, and support reachable at any hour. The first two to three weeks are the ones in which oedema and pain sustain each other⁶. The rental period is set to that window, not to the length of stay.