After knee, hip or shoulder surgery, you may be offered several cold compression machines for hire. Some use ice, some use a built-in fridge unit, and many are described as “just like Game Ready”. This guide covers the three things that set them apart: how they make cold, what’s inside the wrap, and whether the machine has been tested.
Has the machine been tested?
Research only tells you about the machine that was used in it.
Game Ready has been studied in published clinical trials across Europe, North America and Australia. A 2024 randomised trial of knee replacement patients used the Game Ready GRPro 2.1. Compared with ice packs and an elastic bandage, the Game Ready group had less joint swelling, less pain during activity, and walked further by day 21. A 2024 Canadian trial of 200 shoulder surgery patients also used the GRPro 2.1, and median opioid use in the Game Ready group was about half that of the usual-care group. Unlike competitors quoting research they haven’t done with their machines, these trials are of Game Ready itself.
We also looked for published trials of the iceless and budget machines marketed in New Zealand as alternatives:
Cryon-x: we found no published trials.
Cryopush: the only published study we found used a portable cold-pack version of the machine. The participants were 15 healthy male recreational athletes recovering from jumping exercise, and the machine was compared with lying still. The manufacturer supplied the device and the funding for the study.
We found no published study testing either machine on surgery patients, or against Game Ready.
Why Game Ready runs on ice
A surgical joint gives off a lot of heat, and a cold compression machine’s job is to carry that heat away. There are two ways to supply the cold.
Ice. When ice melts, it soaks up about 334 kilojoules of heat per kilogram and stays at 0 °C the whole time. The ice you tip into a Game Ready took your freezer hours to make, and all that stored cold is released as fast as the circulating water brings heat back from the joint. With the reservoir full of ice, Game Ready’s cold therapy runs between 2–10 °C.
A micro-fridge. Iceless units have a small refrigeration unit built in, so they have to make all their cold on the spot. However hot the joint is after surgery, the unit can only remove heat as fast as its motor and power supply allow. Typical specifications:
- – A cold range of 5–14.5 °C, accurate to within 3 °C
- – About 15 minutes to cool down before it’s ready to use
That battery holds about 260 watt-hours. Spread over 3 hours, that’s under 90 watts on average for the whole machine, including the water pump, compression, fan and electronics.
Iceless units are sold as the lighter option, but the difference is smaller than you might expect:
- – Game Ready: 3.3 kg empty and about 7.5 kg filled with ice and water
- – Cryon-X: 6.4 kg including its battery
The one clear convenience of an iceless unit is that you never refill ice. But in the only independent laboratory comparison of knee cryocompression devices we know of (Belsey et al. 2024, UK), both machines that cooled the skin into the 10–15 °C target range ran on ice water. That study didn’t include any iceless machines.
Game Ready’s iceless machine
Strong cooling without ice takes size and power. Game Ready’s own iceless system, the Med4 Elite, is built for clinics around a refrigeration unit, bigger than that of a household freezer. The Med4 Elite measures 83 cm L x 63 cm W x 109 cm H and weighs 78Kg without any water. The water transfers directly over the refrigeration unit without an air gap. The power requirement to run the refrigeration unit alone is around 450W. Game Ready require this to adequately cool for cold therapy and rehabilitation without ice.
Inside the wrap
The wrap is where the cold meets your body, and it’s where Game Ready excels and differs the most.
Game Ready’s patented ATX wraps have two separate chambers, one for air and one for ice water, so they deliver adjustable compression and circulating cold at the same time. Inside the water chamber, a grid of small welded “dots” joins the two walls and spreads the water evenly through the whole wrap, so cold reaches every part of the joint rather than running along a few channels. The wraps are shaped for specific body parts and go all the way around the joint. When the air chamber inflates, it presses the cold layer evenly against the skin, front and back.
Surrounding the inner heat exchange, described above, is an outer sleeve like a contoured, well fitted garment. The size and comfort of the wrap is exceptional and a new sleeve is provided with every rental. The result is a clean, comfortable feeling to aid in your recovery.
Most suppliers of other machines don’t publish how big their wraps are, but we do:
- – Knee wrap: 43cm long, with a maximum 81cm circumference at the top and a 61cm circumference at the bottom.
- – Shoulder wrap: Surrounds the entire shoulder joint, upper chest strap area, and upper arm/bicep region. A comfortable sling is provided.
- – Hip/Groin wrap: Covers the targeted hip joint, surrounding pelvic region, and upper quad/groin area. One size fits a wide range of body types up to a 72-inch waist.
Superior coverage and comfort, hygienic and low allergy. We haven’t found anybody yet that we haven’t been able to fit. If you’re comparing machines, ask other suppliers for the same figures.
More information on Game Ready Wraps
Questions to ask before you hire
- – Has this exact machine been tested? Ask for the published trial, and check it involved surgery patients.
- – How cold does it get, and how quickly? Ask for the lowest temperature and the time it takes to reach it.
- – How big is the wrap? Ask for the cooling area, and whether the wrap goes all the way around your joint.
- – What compression does it give? Game Ready’s high setting runs from 5 to 75 mmHg.
- – Is it notified to Medsafe? WAND notification is compulsory for suppliers, but it isn’t an approval and doesn’t mean Medsafe has assessed the device.
- – What support do you get? Ask about delivery, setup help and cleaning between patients.
Game Ready for sale and hire across New Zealand
Sports Health has supplied Game Ready in New Zealand since 2017. You can rent or buy a Game Ready, and rental units can be couriered anywhere in NZ or collected from our Albany warehouse. Pricing and rental periods are available here – Game Ready Rentals
Avoid post-surgery regret and choose Game Ready for your recovery.