Cryokinetics is a rehabilitation technique involving ice application followed by progressive active exercises. It has been shown to be very successful in treating ligament sprains.
Cryokinetics basically allows exercise which is pain-free, relatively soon after the injury. The anaesthesia or numbness arising from ice application does not remove pain-sensing mechanisms, it only removes the current pain from tissue damage. So if active exercises are too vigorous pain will still occur.
Cold should be applied for a maximum of twenty minutes which should be sufficient to produce the numbed response which is required. The process can be repeated for 5 minutes to re-numb the area if necessary. The exercises performed during cryokinetics are active which means the patient performs them independently of any help from a therapist. They should be gradually increased in intensity providing they remain pain-free.
The key to the success of cryokinetics appears to be progressing as quickly as possible from one exercise to the other. Unlike conventional rehabilitation programs where a certain number of reps must be completed, if the athlete can perform the exercise, smoothy, and pain-free then they can progress.
The benefits of cryokinetics include:
- Exercise increases blood flow to the injured area, vital in healing, once the initial acute phase has passed and any bleeding has stopped.
- Cryokinetic exercise re-establishes neuromuscular function and is possible much earlier than normal and as such atrophy or wasting of the muscles has not had time to set in.
- Swelling is reduced dramatically through the combination of cooling and exercise.