Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 18, 2026

Early Weight-Bearing Rehabilitation Protocol After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
05:07

Early Weight-Bearing Rehabilitation Protocol After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Published on: March 1, 2024

Cryotherapy following total knee replacement.

Sam Adie1, Amy Kwan, Justine M Naylor

  • 1Whitlam Orthopaedic Research Centre, Liverpool Hospital, Liverpool, Australia. sam.adie@sswahs.nsw.gov.au

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews
|September 14, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

The Reconstructive Pelvic Anatomy classification system : a valid and reliable classification system for pelvic reconstruction.

Bone & joint open·2026
Same author

Reply to the Letter to the Editor: How Can the Use of Patient-Reported Outcomes Data by Orthopaedic Surgeons Be Improved? A National Qualitative Study.

Clinical orthopaedics and related research·2026
Same author

Robotic-assisted surgery and functional alignment in total knee arthroplasty: the RASKAL registry-nested 2 × 2 factorial randomized trial.

The bone & joint journal·2026
Same author

Behavioural nudges to reduce low-value care for low back pain in the emergency department (NUDG-ED): a 2 × 2 factorial, pragmatic cluster randomized trial.

CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne·2026
Same author

Co-Designing the Early Pain Intervention After Knee Replacement (EPIK) Model of Care for People With Persistent Pain After Knee Replacement.

Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy·2026
Same author

Quality of life before and during the COVID-19 pandemic for people undergoing hip, knee and shoulder arthroplasty-nationwide results from the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry.

International orthopaedics·2026
Same journal

Interventions to prevent or cease electronic cigarette use in children and adolescents.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Drugs to improve anaemia, quality of life, and physical function in people with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Interventions for smoking cessation in inpatient psychiatry settings.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Mechanical thromboprophylaxis for preventing intradialytic hypotension in people undergoing maintenance haemodialysis.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Prognostic models for predicting intensive care unit admission or mortality in critically ill adults not yet been admitted to the intensive care unit.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
Same journal

Views and experiences of weight management for people living with mobility‑limiting conditions, intellectual disabilities or severe mental illness: a qualitative evidence synthesis.

The Cochrane database of systematic reviews·2026
See all related articles

Cryotherapy after total knee replacement (TKR) shows minimal benefits for blood loss and pain, with low-quality evidence. Further research is needed to determine if cryotherapy is clinically significant for TKR recovery.

Area of Science:

  • Orthopedic Surgery
  • Rehabilitation Medicine
  • Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

  • Total knee replacement (TKR) is a prevalent surgical procedure for end-stage knee osteoarthritis.
  • Post-operative cryotherapy is frequently employed, but its efficacy remains uncertain.
  • This review assesses the impact of cryotherapy on key outcomes following TKR.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the effectiveness of acute cryotherapy (within 48 hours) after TKR.
  • Assessed outcomes include pain, blood loss, and functional recovery.
  • The study aims to synthesize evidence from randomized controlled trials and controlled clinical trials.

Main Methods:

  • A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, etc.) up to March 2012.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 18, 2026

Early Weight-Bearing Rehabilitation Protocol After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
05:07

Early Weight-Bearing Rehabilitation Protocol After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Published on: March 1, 2024

  • Included studies were randomized controlled trials or controlled clinical trials comparing cryotherapy to control groups post-TKR.
  • Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were performed independently by two reviewers.

    • Main Results:

    • Eleven RCTs and one CCT involving 809 participants were analyzed.
    • Very low-quality evidence suggests a small, potentially insignificant benefit in reducing blood loss.
    • Low-quality evidence indicates a possible improvement in pain scores at 48 hours post-surgery, but not at 24 or 72 hours; range of motion showed a small improvement.
    • No significant differences were found in adverse events, transfusion rates, analgesia use, swelling, or length of stay.

    Conclusions:

    • The potential benefits of cryotherapy for blood loss, pain, and range of motion after TKR appear minimal and may not outweigh inconveniences and costs.
    • The evidence supporting cryotherapy's effectiveness is of very low to low quality.
    • High-quality, well-designed randomized trials are necessary to establish definitive conclusions on cryotherapy's role in TKR recovery.