I.C.E. DOWN Knee Ice Wraps

Most knee pain can be treated at home with self-care. More serious knee injuries may require medical attention. Exercise and physical therapy can help you get back to normal. In rare cases surgery is required to repair or replace the knee.

Cold Therapy for Knee Pain

Cold therapy can be used alone to treat knee pain and inflammation on an as-needed basis, without the side effects of taking medications.

When the cold is applied it immediately stimulates the release of endorphins, your body's natural pain killers. The cold also reduces the transmission of pain signals to the brain and it numbs the local nerve endings like a local anesthetic. Cold therapy brings down the inflammation and swelling that are so often a part of knee pain.

Cold therapy can also be used in conjunction with other knee pain treatments. I.C.E. DOWN ice wraps can be worn while performing cryokinetic exercises. They are also ideal for providing ice and compression post-surgically.

R.I.C.E. for Knee Pain

If you have injured your knee or knee pain sets in suddenly, the first line of treatment for a knee injury is rest, ice, compression, and elevation. This is standard first aid for knee injuries, and should be used as soon as possible after the injury occurs. Timely and effective use of ice and compression can significantly affect the outcome of your knee injury.

Signs that you may need medical attention include:

• Inability to bear weight on the injured leg due to extreme pain or the knee giving out
• Fever or other signs of infection
• Deformity around the knee
• Excessive swelling
• Inability to bend the knee
• Inability to completely straighten the knee
• Pain persists for more than a few days
• Pain is worse at night or while lying down

Drugs for Knee Pain

Both prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs may be used for knee pain. Pain killers and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most common. Under certain circumstance medications can have some benefits, but they can also have unwanted and even dangerous short-term and long-term side effects.

Corticosteroid injections are sometimes used to bring down inflammation and provide relief from pain, but can have very serious side effects, and can cause tendon damage.

Hyaluronic Acid Injections

Hyaluronic acid injections may provide relief from certain types of knee pain, such as osteoarthritis in younger sufferers. The efficacy of these injections is still in question, but the side effects and risks are minimal.

Exercise and Physical Therapy

Physical therapy and exercise can reduce your knee pain and help you avoid future injury to your knee. Strengthening the muscles, not just in the knee, but also in the thigh and hip area can take the load off of the knee joint, and improve weight distribution.

After a knee injury physical therapy and exercise are important to healing, restoring range of motion and returning strength to your knee. Cryokinetics are exercises performed in conjunction with cold therapy. Cold therapy makes you comfortable enough to perform the exercises without blunting the new pain signals that tell you when you are in danger of re-injury.

Surgery

For some types of knee injury, such as a severe tendon, surgery is a necessary treatment. For many types of knee pain, however, surgery is a last resort and is not always effective in eliminating or significantly reducing the pain.

In severe cases, total knee replacement surgery is used to remove the joint and replace it with an artificial knee.

To learn more about I.C.E. DOWN ice wraps for knee pain, or to place an order, please visit our online store right away.