Evaluation of cold therapy in postoperative spine patients

The use of cold therapy postoperatively in orthopaedics has been the topic of a long-standing discussion. How cold is applied, (i.e., ice vs. machine), the length of time of cold exposure, and frequency of appli- cation has been the subject of debate for years, and there is still no clear-cut answer or standard which isuniformly followed. The use of cold has been shown by both Cohn 1 and McCoy2to decrease the need for pain medication postoperatively. Masten3 used cold therapy in the laboratory to demonstrate that post-traumatic swelling was controlled with cold applications. McMaster and Liddle' showed a relationship with decreased edema and early application of ice.We attempted to look at the application of cold therapy in postoperative spine patients to see if there was significant benefit to our patients. In our study patients were randomly cho- sen to receive cold therapy postoperatively. Patient groups were normalized as to sex, age, and surgery. Both groups were homogenous when looked at overall. The Hot/Ice System™ (Incare Medical Products, Hollister Inc., Hollister, Calif.] was chosen as the method of cold delivery for three reasons: (1) ease of use, (2) limited need for nursing intervention, and (3) delivery of consistent cold temperatures (Fig. 1).