For the avid ground athlete who often gets a swollen knee, there are relatively few treatments that will help. The first thing that should be done is your typical R-I-C-E regimen. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. These are hard and fast rules for the knee that swells up from overactivity. When your knee swells up, doctors call this an "effusion". Basically your knee is getting angry inside and cannot handle the stress of your activity. In an effort to produce more lubrication into the joint, the knee elutes fluid into the joint. It's also a clear signal that you need to take a load off.
For the expert patient with chronic knee effusions, it can be a real hassle to pack ice in a bag and wrap it around your knee. It melts, it gets messy, and if you don't have an ice machine, it is a pain. Alternatively you can use a freeze gel pad. Some people don't like the gel because it doesn't stay cold long enough. If you really want to take good care of your knee, you should consider getting a Cryo Cuff. The Cryo Cuff is really the best thing since sliced bread came out. It's a cuff that you put around your knee and attach to a small tubing that is connected to an ice cooler. It keeps your knee cold for a long time.
The actual way the cooling system works is that there is a motor in the cooler that circulates fluid into the tubing and through the cuff. By circulating the water in the cooling system the water stays cold for longer and you don't need to get up every 20 or 30 minutes to get a new bag of ice. Many years ago the Cryo Cuff was prohibitively expensive for any regular person to buy. You typically only got to use on in the hospital or at a physical therapists office. Nowadays, prices are very reasonable. The Cryo Cuff is routinely used for people after total knee replacement surgery or ACL reconstruction. For the athletic patient who wants to get rid of knee swelling fast, the Cryo Cuff will do the trick.
If you love your knee, go out and get an Aircast Cyro Cuff. |
