The Use of Cold Therapy After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Abstract

We performed a randomized, prospective study to as sess the effectiveness of postoperative cold therapy in patients who had anterior cruciate ligament reconstruc tions. Drain output, length of hospital stay, range of motion, and use of pain medication were all assessed. Patients were randomized into one of four groups after surgery. Group 1 patients had a cooling pad applied to the knee postoperatively and set at a temperature of 40° to 50°F, Group 2 had the cooling pad set at 70° to 80°F, Group 3 received ice packs, and Group 4 re ceived no cold therapy of any kind. The skin tempera tures in Groups 1 and 3 were significantly lower than the skin temperatures in Groups 2 and 4 (P < 0.001). The length of hospital stay, range of motion at dis charge, use of oral and intramuscular pain medicine, and drain output were not significantly different be tween groups. No complications related to the type of cold therapy were seen in any group. Thus, both ice packs and cooling pads significantly decreased knee temperature, but we found no objective benefits in the early postoperative course due to this decrease in temperature.