How does Arctic Ease work?

Arctic Ease® pads and wraps are specially treated, without medications, alcohol or menthol, to cool the affected area and maintains effective cooling of the affected area for hours. As the wrap removes heat from the skin, inner layers remain cool, the Arctic Ease® wraps and pads conforms to the skin, maximizing the patented process of drawing heat energy from injured or swollen tissue. In addition, Arctic Ease® products are nontoxic, latex and adhesive free, biodegradable and safe for the environment.

Cold therapy (also known as cryotherapy) is widely used to help control inflammation, edema and pain by constricting blood vessels and slowing down nerve conduction. It can also help in decreasing muscle soreness brought on by new activities, overuse injuries, arthritis, back, joint and muscle pains and sprains, along with repetitive motion injuries, minor burns and bruises.

After acute injury or trauma the body will get an increase in metabolic reactions and be accompanied by bleeding and/or edema. The application of cold therapy will reduce heat, redness, function loss and pain. Cryotherapy slows down the movement of fluid into interstitial tissue thereby decreasing edema and help controlling effects of inflammation. It is also used to control pain as it decreases activity of nerve fibers, which conduct pain sensations to the brain.

The Arctic Ease® wraps are a two-in-one solution, allowing for cryotherapy and for compression. Compression is utilized to facilitate the lymphatic system in removing edema [inflammation]. With the benefit of cryotherapy and compression supplied by an Arctic Ease® wrap there is a decrease in the pressure gradient between blood vessels and tissue and discourages further leakage from capillaries this encourages lymphatic drainage.

Cryotherapy and compression facilitates the lymphatic system speeding the removal of edema [inflammation or swelling] weather from arthritis, Lymphedema/Lepedema (secondary lymphedema), overuse injuries and strains, muscle pains and sprains, along with repetitive motion injuries, minor burns and bruises.

The lymphatic system has three principal roles:

  1. Maintenance of blood and tissue volume. Excess fluid that leaves the capillaries when under pressure would build up and cause edema.
  2. Absorbing fatty acids and triglycerides from fat digestion so that these components of digestion do not enter directly into the blood stream.
  3. Defending the body against invading microbes, and the immune response. This system assists in maintenance such as bone repair after injuries and muscle repair after an injury.

Arctic Ease helped me recover my ACL surgery and get back on the field faster than everyone expected. It helped because I could wear the wraps everywhere without having to change it all the time and worry about getting burned by ice. (Arrelious Benn, Wide Receiver)

Overuse injuries benefit from cold therapy as they usually cause an inflammatory response on specific tissues from activities. Cold can be applied after an activity to control the inflammatory reactions of the imposed demand. Traditional cold therapy products such as ice bags and frozen gel packs should be applied for 10-20 minutes and should be repeated once an hour.

Unlike traditional cold therapy products, Arctic Ease wraps and pads can be worn for hours at time without the risk of tissue or nerve damage.

Cold therapy is recommended for 48 to 72 hours after acute injury because this is when inflammation is most common. If the temperature of an area remains to be elevated for longer than this period there is a possibility of infection and you should contact a physician to further investigate.(1)

(1) Joseph Ciccone, a physical therapist at Columbia Doctors Eastside Sports Therapy; received his clinical Doctorate in physical therapy from NYU.