OssurCold Rush Therapy Machine System with Knee Pad - Ergonomic, Adjustable Knee Ice Pack Wrap - Quiet, Lightweight Ice Pack for Knee - Strong Cryotherapy Ice Machine for Knee After Surgery

I have had to have a total knee replacement 4 times. Needless to say, I have lots of experience in post operative care for knee replacements/revisions. I have used this device 3 out of the 4 surgeries. In my opinion, it is worth the investment both in regards to aiding in healing by reducing swelling but also cost. It is a bit pricey but well worth the investment, as it can be easily stored and reused. As I have stated before, I've used this device 3 different times. The only difference was I rented it for what I could have bought 5 of these devices for. The only real downfall would be the amount of ice it requires to keep your surgical area cool. I have found that if you freeze 4, 16oz bottles of water, you can place 2 in the device with additional ice, and rotate them as needed. Even using frozen water bottles, you will still need to use ice. It is a pain to keep the ice on hand, but we kept it in the garage in our large cooler. I absolutely LOVE this machine and would highly recommend it to anyone having surgery where you would use an ice pack to reduce swelling. At my 1 week post op appointment, my surgeon and physical therapist couldn't believe how little swelling I had. Im now at my 3 week post op date and I still use it at night. Oh, it is super quiet. You won't even know it is on.

Amazing ice machine for shoulder and knee surgery recovery. This is my second machine only because the tubing broke down on the first one as it was stored in the garage for 8 years between surgeries. The constant cold definately helped me to lessen the amount of pain killers. Great product for the money

Compared to other cryo-therapy machines on the market, the Ossur Cold Rush is right near the bottom of the pack in terms of both quality and functionality. I'm normally content to accept that you get what you pay for, but in my opinion, you're better off keeping your $$ in your pocket and wrapping your injury with bags of frozen peas. The Cold Rush doesn't get anywhere near cold. Not even cool. It flat out doesn't circulate the ice water unless you're prepared to treat it like a gravity system and keep the unit high up above your injury. The woefully underpowered pathetic excuse for a pump Ossur decided to include in this model is nowhere near strong enough to keep a constant circulation of cold water flowing through the wrap. My fish tank has a better pump than this thing. This was seriously a huge waste of money. I ended up getting a Game Ready system prescribed on a temporary basis and was quite sad when I had to return it. Granted that the Game Ready unit costs thousands compared to this Ossur Cold Rush. I've been through 3 knee surgeries, 2 of which utilized the Game Ready in my post-op recovery and can state uncategorically that cryo-therapy is a crucial component to reduce post-operative swelling and speed up your recovery time. I'd hoped to continue the cold therapy with this Ossur after returning the Game Ready and was shocked at just how poorly it performed. Good old fashioned ice wraps and the old standby bags of frozen peas do a far superior job of keeping the cold where you need it. The knee pad included with the Ossur refuses to stay put unless you're willing to literally tape it to your injury site. Ace wrapping it was insufficient to keep the pad anywhere near in contact with my skin. Yes I know Ossur cautions about frostbite injuries without the use of a towel or other such layer between your skin and the pad. But even with direct contact of the pad to the skin, I've experienced more relief from a cool breeze than I have with this poor excuse of a cryo-therapy machine.

I now own both the Ossur Cold Rush and the DonJoy IceMan version of this ice machine. There are significant differences. Both are good, but the Ossur wins out on a handful of fronts.Icing is amazing therapy. There are good reasons pro athletes use it all the time. I’m not a pro athlete, but I find icing to be invaluable in recovery from surgery, trauma as well as everyday sports therapy. I’ve been skiing for 50 years so I have bad knees. After three different surgeries (2 left, 1 right), I recently had to replace my left knee. The recovery has been rough, but having an ice machine (two, actually - one in the bedroom and one in the living room), has been awesome at keeping down the swelling.These machines used to be stupidly expensive and so were only available for rent as part of physical therapy post-surgery. Now that they’re under $150, there’s no reason not to have one in the house if you’re into sports that sometimes hurt you.I give the Ossur Cold Rush five stars and the IceMan only three (it kind of deserves 4, but it is definitely two steps below the Ossur for various reasons - read on).Both machines work the same way. You put some cold water in the tank, add ice and turn it on. They have a pump that feeds ice water through a hose to a cold pad and return water to the tank. I’ve tried a couple different types of pads - don’t worry if you have a knee pad and need to use it on your elbow/shoulder/hip. It will work better than any re-freezable bag you’ve bought from the drug store in the past. If you’re buying it new for a specific injury, then by all means buy the right pad.Both machines are insulated to some degree. Both have insulated hoses (they look identical, including the connectors - I haven’t tried interchanging them). Both have a tank that is insulated to some degree. The Ossur seems to be more insulated because ice seems to last longer in that one.Here is where the Ossur out-shines the IceMan:Plug it in and leave it plugged in. The Ossur has a power dial that you use to turn it on and turn up/down the flow of water. In effect, this allows you to control the “temperature”. The higher the flow, the colder it makes your knee/foot/whatever. On the Donjoy, you have to plug it in to turn it on. Not easy when the hole where you plug it in is not marked and is only a few inches off the ground (injured people often can’t bend easily). More important, it only has one speed.Noise: The IceMan makes lots more noise. You won’t notice it in most cases, but it is very loud if you try to use it while lying in bed in a quiet room. Yes, it is mostly just white noise, but the ColdRush is so much quieter - especially if you put it on a low setting. And you’ll want the low setting if you’re going to sleep with it on. In the 6-8 weeks after my knee replacement surgery, I slept with it on most nights - for at least a few hours. I always wear a pair of flannel pajama pants between the pad and my skin and have not had any problems with freezing when I run it at a lower setting.The ColdRush seems to require less water and less ice, yet the ice lasts longer. I think it is better insulated, but I’m not sure if that’s why. Also, the ColdRush prints instructions on the lid in color so you can’t lose them. My IceMan was given to me by the hospital and didn’t come with any instructions.Pro tip: if your ice machine at home won’t make enough ice to keep up with your demands, try freezing a few small water bottles (empty out a little water first so they don’t burst). Put one or two water bottles in the water, then add the ice. You’ll need less ice and it works nearly as well. Also, when you lift the lid, pull it straight up to take it all the way off. It makes emptying and filling the machine easier.Bottom line: The Ossur Cold Rush is less expensive and better than the DonJoy Polar IceMan. Save some money and get the better machine.