Research, clinical studies and guides

Research & Clinical Studies

Plain-language recovery guides, written the way a good nurse explains things, plus the published research and clinical evidence behind cold and compression therapy.

A knee wrap fitted for therapy after knee replacement

· 6 min

Ice Therapy After Knee Replacement: What Evidence Shows

What clinical trials show about cold therapy after knee replacement: pain, opioid use, swelling, and what matters in a device.

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A person holding a swollen, painful knee after surgery

· 6 min

How to reduce swelling after surgery: the evidence

What clinical trials actually show about compression, elevation and cold for post-surgical swelling, and which methods the evidence backs most.

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A patient recovering at home after knee replacement surgery

· 6 min

Swelling After Knee Replacement: What Studies Show

How long swelling actually lasts after total knee replacement, what's normal at 90 days and 6 months, and what clinical studies say helps.

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A knee wrap connected to a cold therapy unit, the kind of device studied after knee surgery

· 6 min

Ice Machines After Knee Surgery: What Studies Show

What clinical trials on cold therapy after knee replacement, ACL and meniscus surgery show about pain, swelling, motion and recovery.

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A cold therapy device, the kind of machine this research covers

· 6 min

What Research Says About Cold Therapy Machines

What clinical reviews on cryotherapy and cold compression devices actually show about pain, swelling, opioid use and recovery after surgery.

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Someone staying active during recovery, the kind of outcome cold therapy research measures

· 6 min

What the research says about cold therapy for recovery

How cold therapy works, what systematic reviews actually show about pain after surgery, and where the evidence is still thin.

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A cold and compression system in use at home

· 5 min

What Research Says About Compression Therapy

How compression therapy works, what the research supports it for, and where the evidence is still thinner than the marketing around it suggests.

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Someone stretching during recovery, the kind of activity cryotherapy research studies

· 6 min

What the Research Says About Cryotherapy's Benefits

Localized cold therapy and whole-body cryo chambers aren't the same thing. Here's what the research supports for each, honestly, including the limits.

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The NICE1 device with its knee wrap, the iceless system compared against ice-reservoir machines

· 6 min

Best Ice Machine for Knee Surgery Rental in Canada

How the NICE1 compares to leading ice-based machines for knee surgery recovery — mechanism, compression and price, fact-checked against published specifications.

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A pair of MAXM Skate recovery devices

· 4 min

MAXM Skate vs. CPM Machine: What's the Difference?

How the MAXM Skate, an active knee rehab device with sensor tracking, differs from a traditional motorized CPM machine after knee or hip surgery.

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· 3 min

What Is Palm Cooling?

What palm cooling is, how devices like it work, and why it is used for recovery and performance between efforts.

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The NICE ankle wrap fitted for cold and compression therapy

· 5 min

Ankle Surgery Recovery: ROM, Fractures, and Cold Therapy

What ankle surgery recovery looks like for fractures, ligament repair and fusion, how range of motion (ROM) progresses, and where cold therapy fits.

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The NICE wrist wrap fitted for a hand and wrist recovery

· 5 min

Broken Wrist Surgery: When It's Needed, Recovery Time

When a broken wrist actually needs surgery, what recovery time looks like with plates and screws, and how cold therapy fits the first weeks.

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The NICE leg amputee wrap, shaped for residual limb coverage

· 4 min

Below-Knee and Above-Knee Amputation Recovery

What residual limb recovery looks like after below-knee or above-knee amputation, why swelling control matters for prosthetic fitting, and what helps.

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The NICE shoulder wrap worn during recovery

· 5 min

Ice Machine for Shoulder Surgery: What Actually Helps

Whether a rotator cuff repair, arthroscopic surgery or shoulder replacement, here's what actually reduces shoulder swelling and shortens recovery time.

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The NICE articulated knee wrap, fitted and connected for a therapy session

· 6 min

Ice Pack vs Cryo Cuff vs Cold Therapy Machine for Knee

Ice packs, cryo cuffs and cold therapy machines compared for knee surgery recovery: how each works, what it costs, and which actually holds a temperature.

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The NICE lumbar wrap with straps, secured around the lower back

· 5 min

Spine Surgery Recovery: Fusion, Cervical, Healing Time

What recovery looks like after lumbar fusion or cervical spine surgery, realistic healing timelines, and where cold therapy fits in.

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The NICE elbow wrap fitted for cold and compression therapy

· 4 min

Tennis Elbow Surgery and Elbow Fracture Recovery

What recovery looks like after tennis elbow surgery or an elbow fracture repair, realistic healing time, and why a small joint is hard to ice well.

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An older couple settled comfortably on their sofa at home

· 5 min

Preparing your home for knee replacement

The recoveries that go smoothly are set up in advance. A room-by-room checklist for preparing your home before knee replacement surgery.

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An older woman on a sofa checking a swollen leg

· 5 min

How to reduce swelling after knee replacement

Swelling drives most of the discomfort after knee replacement. Here's the full toolkit, elevation, movement, compression and cold, and how to use each.

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A person clutching a painful knee

· 5 min

Meniscus surgery recovery: repair vs. trim

Meniscus surgery recovery depends entirely on which operation you had, a quick trim or a protected repair. Here's how each one unfolds at home.

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The NICE shoulder wrap worn at home during a session

· 6 min

Rotator cuff repair recovery: why it's slow

Rotator cuff repair has one of the longest recoveries in orthopaedics. Here's why, what the phases look like, and how cold therapy fits each one.

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The NICE ankle wrap being fitted around a foot and ankle

· 6 min

Foot & ankle surgery recovery: elevation and cold

What foot and ankle surgery recovery involves, non-weight-bearing life, why elevation rules everything, and how cold and compression fit the plan.

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An ice bag held against a knee, the routine cold therapy replaces

· 5 min

How long should you ice after surgery?

Session length, daily frequency and how many weeks, how cold therapy protocols are structured after surgery, and why consistency beats intensity.

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An older adult recovering comfortably at home with the NICE1

· 6 min

Hip replacement recovery: a realistic timeline

What hip replacement recovery really looks like, the first days, movement precautions, walking milestones and how swelling behaves week to week.

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A woman lying awake in bed, sleep is the hard part of shoulder recovery

· 6 min

Shoulder surgery recovery: slings, sleep and the first month

The first month after shoulder surgery, explained plainly, sling life, why sleep is the hard part, swelling control and early physio milestones.

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A soccer player down on the pitch holding their knee

· 6 min

ACL surgery recovery: what the first six weeks look like

The first six weeks after ACL reconstruction, explained plainly, swelling, quad wake-up, physio milestones, and how cold therapy fits in.

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A patient at home with a NICE1 knee wrap during knee replacement recovery

· 7 min

Knee replacement recovery: a week-by-week guide

What knee replacement recovery actually feels like, week by week, swelling, sleep, physio and the milestones most people hit. Canadian, plain-language.

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Common questions

What kind of content is this?

Three kinds: plain-language recovery guides written the way a good nurse explains things, published research on cold and compression therapy, and clinical evidence specific to post-surgical recovery — filter by category above.

What topics do the guides cover?

Practical recovery guidance such as knee replacement, ACL surgery, and how to think about cold therapy machines after surgery.

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