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If you played sports in your youth, have kids who play sports, or have any experience coaching recreational or youth teams, you most likely have some level of familiarity with sports injuries.

According to the Stanford Children’s hospital, you might be surprised to learn that 30 million children and teens participate in organized sports in the US, which results in more than 3.5 million injuries annually. Also, the CDC has concluded that high school athletes alone are responsible for two million injuries, half a million doctor’s visits, and more than 30,000 hospitalizations on an annual basis.

Every sport has characteristic injuries that players tend to experience most often, simply because each game has different movements and mechanisms that lend themselves to various potential injuries.

Let’s examine the most common injuries associated with fall and winter sports and look at some quick and effective treatments for a few of them.

Football

No, we are not talking about European Football. American football is one of the most popular games in North America, but as a contact sport, it also exposes players to a range of common injuries, including:

• Concussions or head trauma
• Knee injuries (dislocations, ACL tears, etc.)
• Ankle injuries (ligament issues, fractures, Plantar Fasciitis)

Cold compression can help reduce the pain and swelling from a sprained ankle or a blow to the knee. And if you, your child, or a player you’re coaching suffers a pulled muscle or pinched nerve, heat therapy can help restore blood flow to increase flexibility and reduce tension and stiffness.

Try our multi-use joint pain pack for a sprain or blow to the joint. It provides targeted relief to injured joints and can be securely attached. It’s effective, easy to use, and highly reliable.

And, of course, make sure you never get complacent about protective equipment while playing football.

Swimming

Overuse injuries are the most common injuries among swimmers, which isn’t surprising given that the sport is based on speed and endurance and features fast repetitive motions.

Some of the most frequently seen injuries among swimmers of all levels include:

• Knee swelling and inflammation (called “Breaststroker’s Knee” by swimmers)
• Shoulder overuse and over-rotation injuries
• Hip issues

While NSAIDs can help relieve symptoms of injuries, a much more natural pathway to recovery is to apply cold to reduce swelling and pain in acute injuries and heat to promote blood flow, restore flexibility, and reduce pain as you heal.

Our universal reusable hot and cold compress wrap features self-adhering velcro straps, so you can effortlessly apply heat or cold anywhere, including large body parts like your back or legs.

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is similar to football because many injuries stem from its inherent nature as a high-contact sport.

Even if you or your players wear all the appropriate protective gear, some risks can’t be completely eliminated, such as:

• Dental injuries such as chipped, fractured, or displaced teeth
• Broken, fractured, or sprained wrists
• Abdominal, spleen, kidney, or liver injuries
• Shoulder injuries like AC separations and broken clavicles

You can help prevent dental injuries by using face masks and mouth guards. The risk of shoulder, abdominal, and organ injuries can be lowered by wearing appropriate protective gear.

Hockey is a highly physical sport. Using heat therapy before getting on the ice can help keep your muscles loose and limber to play at your best and stand up to the “beating” they might encounter during a game. Our XL Hot and Cold Gel Pack can relieve large areas commonly affected by hockey, such as the back and legs.

And hopefully, this goes without saying, but it’s essential to wear a helmet to mitigate your risk of severe head trauma.

Soccer

Soccer is different from hockey because most of the injuries that occur in hockey occur in the player’s upper body, while most injuries in soccer involve the lower body.

The most common injuries in soccer include:

• Sprained ankles
• Hamstring and adductor sprains
• Knee injuries

Cold compression is very effective at reducing the pain associated with these injuries and can help limit inflammation so you can heal faster and start playing again sooner.

Our instant cold pack wrap is your on-the-go solution for soccer injuries. It doesn’t require refrigeration, so it’s easy to store and use whenever and wherever you need it.

Heat And Cold Therapy: When To Use Each

It’s important to know when it’s most effective to apply heat therapy to an injury and when to use cold therapy.

Regardless of which sport you play, cold therapy should mainly be used on acute injuries such as bruises and bumps, sprains and strains, or anything else from immediate pain. For a deeper dive into this topic, check out this blog.

Cold therapy is effective in these circumstances because it reduces swelling and can offer much-needed pain relief.

On the other hand, heat therapy loosens up your body to provide relief from the stiffness and lingering soreness that’s often part of dealing with sports injuries.

Unlike cold therapy, applying heat to injured or sore areas promotes blood flow, enhancing mobility and relaxation in injured areas of the body.

Remember, when you’re dealing with a sports injury, the quickest and best way to facilitate recovery is by using cold and heat therapy at the appropriate times and for the right reasons.

Private or Rapid Relief Brand Options Available

Hot and cold therapy products have long been the choice for natural pain relief by athletes, coaches, and parents. We work with schools and sports teams, and other suppliers worldwide to offer them private label solutions as our well-known Rapid Relief branded solution to distribution and retail establishments. Additionally,, we offer wholesale options to help you reduce costs and provide superior customer satisfaction with a stable supply chain. Our expertise in R&D,  in-house testing, and quality management will assure you we stand by the quality of products.

Take Care Of Yourself

It may sound cliche, but winning isn’t everything. If you don’t properly take care of yourself before, during, and after your practices and games, you won’t stay at your best for very long.

Take care of yourself, and play better for the long run with Rapid Aid’s line of hot and cold therapy products for wrists, shoulders, knees, backs, and more. If you are interested in our products, contact us today to request a quote.

Cold therapy is a proven and popular treatment method for sports injuries. It’s a natural and economical method of relieving pain following an injury.

One of the reasons athletes so widely use it is that it’s extremely effective at helping during both phases of an injury. Cold compresses can significantly reduce pain and swelling during the acute stage of an injury when it first occurs. They can also offer tremendous advantages in helping athletes heal more quickly during the recovery stage of their injuries.

Let’s take a more detailed look at how cold therapy can play an instrumental role in mitigating pain and supporting healing after sports injuries.

The PRICE Principles Of Cold Therapy

Cold therapy is accompanied by a set of principles spelled out by the acronym PRICE. PRICE stands for:

Protection

After a sports injury, you need to ensure that the injured area is kept protected with a splint, a cast, or whatever is appropriate to the specific type and level of injury.

Appropriately protecting an injured body part allows it to heal correctly, which can be critical in regaining full function and avoiding long-term pain and residual issues.

Rest

Rest allows injured tissues to heal more quickly than they would if they had to deal with the usual stress of daily use.

And with some injuries, “playing through it” and continuing to use the affected body part after an injury can cause lasting damage and complications.

Ice

Applying ice to injuries restricts the blood vessels around the injury and even helps block pain signals to the brain.

This blocking of pain signals reduces muscle spasms that can occur after injuries, lowers cellular metabolism, and reduces cellular death in the affected area.

Compression

Compression helps to modulate the bodily fluids that are produced after an injury that are associated with swelling and similar processes.

And similarly to ice, compression helps narrow the blood vessels around an injury, which is one of the reasons that they combine so well together to treat sports injuries.

Elevation

Keeping the injured area of your body elevated helps gravity pull fluids away from the damaged area.

This can be very helpful in reducing the swelling that contributes to pain.

Using Ice For Acute Sports Injuries

Although cold therapy may not be ideal for some individuals, such as those with heart conditions or cold hypersensitivity problems, it effectively relieves symptoms of acute sports injuries for most athletes.

Acute injuries are the types of injuries that are immediately painful, such as those resulting from a direct blow such as a sprain or strain or a torn muscle.

When using ice or cold compresses to treat an acute sports injury, keep the following steps and protocols in mind:

• When the injury first occurs, your main priorities should be to control the swelling and inflammation, the bleeding, and the pain.
• Apply ice or a cold compress to the damaged tissues as soon as possible after bleeding has been controlled. This will reduce the tissues’ metabolic rate and slow down the process of cell death.
• Keep the ice or cold compress in contact with the injured area for a period of 20 minutes before removing it and reapplying every 1-3 hours.

Following these steps can help reduce the acute damage and pain after an injury and improve the healing trajectory and process afterward.

Rapid Aid Has The Cold Therapy Solution You Need

Cold therapy is one of the most effective sports injury mitigation methods. Rapid Aid can provide retail and medical distributors with cold therapy compression solutions to support your orthopedic, sports medicine, and facility supplier’s needs. We manufacture a wide range of cold compress products such as instant cold packs for on-the-spot relief, economical and reusable cold gel compresses and wraps, and clay and oat compresses.

Contact us today to learn more about our line of portable cold compression products for any part of an individual’s body that might be injured.

And if your sports company has private labeling needs, be sure to check out Rapid Aid’s white-label solutions.

Here’s Why You Should Be Stocking Your Shelves with Hot and Cold Pack Products in Football Season 2021

As football returns to schools, communities, and stadiums across North America, preparing for inevitable injuries is critical in this high contact sport. In 2018, over 5 million individuals over the age of 6 were playing the sport with numbers only increasing since then. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, more than 3.5 million kids under the age of 14 are injured from the sport with more than 40% of them requiring hospital-level care. Injuries can be sustained at any time and at any age, so it’s important to make sure that players are prepared to handle them. Here’s how Rapid Aid’s hot and cold therapy products can help injured players during this football season.

What Type of Injuries Can Happen During Football Season 

Because football is a contact sport, the types of injuries that players sustain can vary. Some of the most common injuries are: 

• Knee injury: Knee injuries can happen frequently because of a player’s sudden movement. They can occur in the anterior cruciate (ACL), posterior cruciate (PCL), medial collateral (MCL), and lateral collateral ligaments (LCL). Other injuries to the knee can be equally as devastating to a player’s health, such as a hamstring pull (which spreads through the upper leg and down to to the knee). 
• Ankle sprain: A widespread injury in many sports, ankle sprains are one of the most common causes of injury in football. While they can heal and be treated easily, some of the more severe sprains can take up to 4 months to fully heal. 
• Achilles tendonitis: This injury affects the back of the ankle and is extremely painful, limiting a player’s mobility. The recovery time can last anywhere from 4-6 months. 
• Shoulder injury: Any part of the shoulder can be injured, especially since it is one of the most used body parts in the sport. From dislocating a shoulder to spraining it, throwing the ball can cause players a lot of pain. Recovery times range from a few weeks to a few months. 
• Concussion: Caused by force to the head, concussions can lead to headaches, dizziness, disorientation, nausea, and more. They are perhaps the most common injury for football players and require constant monitoring by a medical professional. 

Treatment for these injuries can range from rest to requiring significant surgeries. However, incorporating pain relief strategies is one of the most important things you can do for an injury at its onset. We offer solutions for pain relief that can help injured athletes during football season. 

Hot vs. Cold Therapy 

There are many options available that cover nearly every injury type and body part, but it can be difficult to know when to use hot versus cold therapy. Applying the wrong heat source can cause more damage to the affected area so it is important to know the difference between hot and cold therapy and when to apply them.

Cold therapy should be used for acute injuries that come on suddenly, such as a hard fall (like a tackle!), bump or bruise. The cold works by constricting the blood vessels. This helps to numb the pain while reducing swelling and inflammation to the affected area. The sooner cold therapy is applied, the quicker the user will experience pain relief and reduced bruising to the area.

Hot therapy is generally used for more chronic pain or injuries such as a pulled muscle, pinched nerve or joint pain. The heat works by boosting circulation and blood flow. It does this by allowing oxygen and nutrients to refuel the joints and muscles in the body. This is especially helpful to athletes whose bodies are subject to ongoing distress. The application of heat can help increase the blood flow in the affected area, creating a faster recovery. The damaged tissue will heal quicker because of this stimulation. It is often advised to apply heat therapy prior to a practice or game as the heat increases flexibility to the joints and muscles.

Although hot and cold therapy effectively treats bumps, bruises, aches, and pains, it is always recommended that players seek medical treatment for more severe injuries or ailments. See the infographic for a quick reference. 

There are products designed for every body part

The NFL places a large emphasis on using preventative measures to stop injuries. However, because injuries aren’t always preventable, they stay up-to-date on the latest medical research and technology to treat injuries. Hot and cold therapy, which is technology developed at our company, is an incredibly effective solution for reducing pain, even in more severe injuries. 

One of our most popular products for sports injuries is our instant hot and cold pack. They help to relieve pain immediately as they do not require freezing or heating. You simply fold the pack in half, wait for the “popping” sound, shake, and apply to the affected area. They are conveniently sized so that they can be taken to football games and practices.

Here are some other products we offer:

• 3-in-1 Instant Cold Wrap – Like the instant cold pack, the 3-in-1 cold wrap uses cold therapy to help reduce pain and swelling. It also comes with a convenient wrap to hold everything in place, making it easy to use on-the-go.  
• Multi-Use Joint Pain Pack – Since joint injuries can be difficult to heal due to their odd configuration, it’s essential to make sure that you have robust pain relief mechanisms. The multi-use joint pain pack is flexible enough to work with hard-to-cover injured areas like the knee and elbow. 
• Foot Pain Cold Pack with Wrap – This cold pack molds to the foot with Contour-Gel technology, allowing the cold therapy to help reduce the pain. It can help with injuries like sprains, spurs, tendonitis, or a torn ligament or muscle. 
• Reusable Hot and Cold Gel Compress – This compress can be used with almost any injury as can be used for either cold therapy (acute injury) or heat therapy (chronic injury or pain).
• Clay Wrap – This large wrap, ideal for use on the back, stomach or legs, is filled with all-natural clay that delivers deep, penetrating heat or cold therapy to soothe sore muscles and joints. It features a soft deluxe fabric that is ideal for direct to skin use and includes a wrap for ease of use.

To view our full product line, visit here.

How Rapid Aid Can Help 

As football season is in full swing, many players, their families, and coaches will be looking for ways to provide easy pain relief for injuries. Our products can help! At Rapid Aid, we have the capacity to manufacture over 10 million units per month at our facilities in Canada, China, and Vietnam. Our global reach provides our clients with an uninterrupted distribution of our products while reducing issues to their supply chain. We’ve been doing this for nearly five decades and are highly responsive and flexible to our customers’ needs. We pass our experience blended with modern, high-end systems on to our customers to meet any application need. Our tireless efforts over the last half-century have allowed us to improve our clients’ supply management, making it less complex, time-consuming, and costly.

For those interested in carrying our products, we also offer white labeling and private labeling services. 

Contact us today if you are interested in our all-natural and highly effective pain relief products. You can also call us at 905-820-4788. Our customer service representatives are standing by to help you with your hot and cold therapy needs.

**This article is not meant to replace seeking medical advice from a primary care physician or doctor.

Rapid Aid and Woodbridge Co-Develop Innovative Packaging Solution for Vaccine Distribution

New Vaccine-Specific, Cold Chain Packaging System Provides 48-hour Temperature Stability without Dry Ice for Covid-19 and Other Temperature Sensitive Vaccine Shipments

Woodbridge and Rapid Aid’s TempAid™ division today announced co-development of a 48-hour packaging solution designed to deliver optimal temperature stability for vaccine distribution shipments.

The patent-pending TempAid Rugged Vaccine Shipper is a qualified, reusable cold chain packaging solution tested to keep vaccines, such as the Covid-19 vaccine, at a consistent temperature for up to 48 hours without additional refrigeration. The packaging system is now in use with a major vaccine manufacturer and is proven to be a cost-effective alternative to other solutions, including refrigerated transportation.

Mission-critical vaccines, such as those manufactured for the Covid-19 pandemic, must be kept at a consistent temperature from the time of manufacture to their end destination. Vaccine exposure outside recommended temperature ranges can decrease their potency, diminishing the effectiveness and protection they provide. Logistics and handling errors can cost thousands of dollars in wasted vaccine and revaccination.

The Rugged 48-hour solution was designed for easy assembly and does not require dry ice, making it safe to handle during pack out or at the destination.

The packaging system was designed with reuse in mind consisting of reusable, recyclable materials that enable a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to single-use packaging. The solution consists of 100 percent recyclable materials:

• Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) outer shell provides a unique range of properties such as thermal insulation, energy absorption, water resistance
• Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) cooler to further enable thermal insulation
• Phase Change Material (PCM) hard bottle gels tested for both temperature stability and reuse
• A complete testing and documentation package including SOPs, testing data, and training material

Two options are available today in volume, either 5°C or -21°C, to meet the needs of today’s vaccine requirements. The solution is laboratory tested for up to 48 hours of protection using the ISTA Procedure 7D Summer Profile to maintain between either +2°C to +8°C or -25°C to -15°C (depending on the option required). It is also tested to ISTA Procedure 3A Standards for Packaged Products for Parcel Delivery and Shipment. ISTA 3A is a physical test for shock and vibration to insure the vaccines don’t get damaged in transport.

Download the data sheet here. To learn more, go to www.tempaid.net/rugged.

Netflix’s smash hit, Cobra Kai, is a continuation of the popular 1980’s Karate Kid series. Decades after their 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament bout, a middle-aged Daniel LaRusso, and Johnny Lawrence find themselves martial-arts rivals again. Rapid Aid’s in-house branded product, the Rapid Relief Instant Cold Pack, can be seen given to bad guy Johnny Keene’s son, Robby, by an EMS paramedic after Robby’s shoulder is dislocated during the state championship.  After icing his injury with the cold pack, Robby feels good enough to get back on the mat and continue to fight.

Rapid Relief Instant Cold Packs are a great economical choice for on-the-spot cold therapy.  They work to reduce swelling and provide instant comfort after an injury immediately. Simple to use – all you do fold the product in half until you hear the inner bag pop, shake contents, and apply to the affected area. These packs are more convenient than ice as they are easy to use and very portable and can use them anywhere, anytime.

If you suffer an injury such as a shoulder dislocation like Johnny did, or break a bone, always seek medical attention immediately. Applying a cold pack to the injured area as quickly as possible is also recommended to help reduce swelling and further injury. The cold will help to restrict the blood flow to the area while numbing the pain. Once a doctor has seen your injury, you can alternate between hot and cold therapy for the best results. The cold treatment will help alleviate the pain, while the hot therapy will provide much-needed comfort (Keep in mind that you should never apply hot or cold therapy for more than 20 minutes at a time).

Rapid Relief’s instant product line also includes instant hot and instant warm packs. These products are great to use when you want instant relief to soothe sore muscles and ease joint pain. They are a great product to have on hand in your home and suitable for schools, sports, dojo’s, fitness gyms, and urgent healthcare facilities.

You can watch the rest of the Cobra Kai Dojo saga on Netflix as the story of the Miyagi-Verse continues.

The new business unit meets the need for cost-optimized and sustainable packaging solutions for temperature-controlled markets

Rapid Aid, the industry leader in hot and cold solutions for healthcare, food, and retail industries, today announced the establishment of a new business unit focused on helping companies maintain temperature stability of their products while in shipment or storage. The new division, branded as TempAid™, includes a focused leadership team, an in-house ISTA member lab, and large-scale manufacturing capability in Canada, Vietnam, and China.

“With over 40 years designing and manufacturing millions of hot and cold packs for the medical and retail markets, the entry into the cold chain packaging market was a natural fit,” said Jeff Whitely, president at Rapid Aid Corp. “Our focus on quality, logistics, and price-conscious manufacturing translate well into the packaging industry where margins are as important as quality and on-time delivery.”

This new TempAid division is already leading the way in terms of cost and sustainable products with a full line of gel packs, PCMs, and insulated coolers. Recent innovations include the EarthWise™ drain-friendly product line, whereby the gel pack’s ingredients can be dumped down the drain after use without environmental concerns, and several durable gel packs and PCMs usable for closed-loop shipping environments. The company has over 25 insulated cooler products, over 50 different styles and sizes of gel packs, and several qualified, tested solutions configurable to almost any requirement and tested to the ISTA standard for quality and reliability.

Clients find that the company’s long history of white-label, custom development has made Rapid Aid’s new division ideal for protecting meal kits, pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and life sciences products.  The company is a member of the International Safe Transit organization (ISTA), a leading industry developer of testing protocols and design standards in the packaging industry.

For specific industries with exact temperature requirements, several custom solutions are already developed, tested, and available via in-house engineering and an ISTA compliance lab.

For more information about the new division, available products, and capabilities, visit their webpage at www.tempaid.net.

Misinformation surrounding cryotherapy (cold therapy) and thermotherapy (hot therapy) is common because many people assume they understand when to use one versus the other. As the leader in hot and cold therapy solutions, we know a thing or two about the technology and application of both therapies. With all of our expertise, we can help debunk some myths surrounding them to help you make more informed decisions about treatment and care.

Myth 1: It’s okay to leave cold or hot therapy products on skin longer than 20 minutes.

When icing or heating an injury, it’s not a good idea to leave an ice or heat pack on the affected area for too long because you can cause further damage to the muscle tissue you’re trying to repair. Icing an injury for more than 20 minutes can also cause frostbite on the skin or even nerve damage. To counteract the cold, our bodies open blood vessels, which can increase swelling—the very thing you’re trying to reduce. Comparably, heat application is commonly used for more chronic injuries. Although heat therapy can help provide comfort to an injury, if it is chronic in nature, you should consult a doctor prior to use or treatment.

Myth 2: Hot and cold therapy is only useful for injuries.

A common misconception about hot and cold therapeutic treatments is that they’re only applicable for injuries or sustained pain and swelling due to an injury. Thermotherapy and cryotherapy have an assortment of uses outside of injury treatment, including:

• Maternity pain relief: During pregnancy, aches and pains are common due to the growing baby and your changing body. Heat and cold therapy can help many women mitigate swelling of limbs and headaches due to hormone changes. During labor and after birth, hot and cold therapy can relax muscles and act as a nerve distractor to reduce pain perception.
• Skin and dermatological conditions: Because cold can constrict blood vessels and tighten pores, many individuals use it to reduce under-eye puffiness, minimize skin redness, and prevent oil and dirt from clogging pores.
• Wellness and comfort: Wellness and comfort are essential to completing our everyday tasks and living our lives to the fullest. Heat therapy can ease discomfort for individuals experiencing menstrual cramps, stomach aches, growing pains, or simply help with relaxation at the end of a long day. Cold therapy is ideal for cooling down the body on hot days or during a fever and reducing sweating after playing sports or for individuals who experience hot flashes.

Myth 3: You can’t use an ice pack for a headache. It’ll make it worse!

When most people have headaches, they’re more inclined to reach for the acetaminophen before they ever think to pull out an ice pack or heating pad for relief. Believe it or not, heat or cold ice packs can be used to lessen the pain of headaches and chronic migraines.  For chronic migraine sufferers, cold packs serve to constrict blood vessels and reduce the neurotransmission of pain. On the other hand, sufferers of tension-type headaches may choose heat packs as heat can increase blood flow to the area and relax tense muscles that can cause muscle-contraction headaches.

Studies have shown that hot or cold compresses can help reduce the severity for acute headaches.  A study found that the use of a cold compress helps to reduce the pain, while a hot compress helps to reduce inflammation.

Myth 4: Never use hot and cold therapy on animals.

Like humans, animals can experience injuries that may require treatment. Hot and cold therapy can be a temporary relief for your animal suffering from swelling, inflammation, and pain. Applying cold therapy to an affected area can penetrate deeper and last longer than heat due to decreased circulation. Similarly, heat can be used for managing sub-acute injuries (lasting 24-72 hours) and chronic conditions in animals to increase blood flow, resulting in faster healing or relaxing of muscles. It’s always best to consult with your veterinarian before administering hot or cold therapy for your pet.

Myth 5: It’s okay to apply ice to your bare skin.

Regardless of how little time you leave ice on the skin, it’s not a good idea to place it directly on there in the first place. Using ice or an ice pack directly on the skin can cause severe frostbite in minutes with long-lasting effects. When ice comes in contact with skin, it forms ice crystals on skin cells and decreases blood flow, depriving the tissues of oxygen that produces underlying and permanent damage. Instead, use a protective layer such as a cloth or a sleeve into which you can insert your hot or cold pack. Alternatively, you could use direct to skin products such as clay wraps or oat bags that are made with a soft fabric.

Myth 6: Ice packs are safe to use on open wounds.

Using thermotherapy or cryotherapy on a skin laceration is not safe. Skin is much more vulnerable to freezing without the top layers of the skin acting as a protective barrier, and heat application can increase blood flow, causing further bleeding. Additionally, unintended bacteria could enter the wound, causing more damage or a slower and more painful healing process. Always consult a doctor before using at-home treatments for an open wound.

Myth 7: It’s okay to use hot and cold therapy for my children.

While we’re not ones to hand out parenting advice, we don’t recommend using hot and cold therapy for an injury on children under two. However, thermotherapy and cryotherapy can be great treatments for stomach discomfort, fevers, and growing pains in children over the age of two. Remember, when using heat or ice on a child, always be present to monitor the application.

Myth 8: Instant cold packs or hot packs are safe to refreeze.

Unfortunately, you cannot refreeze a single-use instant cold pack because it’s chemically impossible and potentially unsafe. Instant cold packs are made up of internal bags: One containing water and the other holding a chemical like calcium ammonium nitrate. When you shake the pack, the two substances combine, leading to an endothermic reaction. This reaction is what causes the pack to turn cold for several minutes. Attempting to reuse a cold pack can cause wear on the external bag and possible leakage of the chemicals inside.

Myth 9: Using an ice pack for a concussion won’t help.

Although there’s no effective medical treatment that can lessen the severity of a concussion or brain injury, using an ice pack on the affected area as soon as the injury occurs can aid in instant pain relief. Using an ice pack can be useful for a concussion as it can absorb the heat from the head and reduce swelling in the area, which can possibly result in faster recovery time.

Myth 10: You should use only ice or only heat on an injury, not both.

Generally, the type of therapy used on an injury will depend on the injury itself. For acute injuries or single-traumatic-event injuries such as fractures, sprains, or dislocations, use ice to reduce pain and inflammation. Heat is most effective for muscle pain or stiffness to release tightness and relax muscles. Moreover, according to Harvard Health, injuries such as muscle strain can benefit from heat and ice in an alternating pattern to reduce swelling and then increase circulation.

For more information about hot and cold therapy products ideal for injuries, pregnancy, children, or animals, check out Rapid Aid’s product section or contact one of our sales agents.

Pregnancy and childbirth can be an uncomfortable time for many women; between the sore feet, aching back, the mind-numbing pain of childbirth and the aftermath of it all.  Fortunately, there are safe and economical solutions to help ease those discomforts. Using a heating pad could help alot for women with cold feet during pregnancy. The fast heating technology provides you unmatched warmth and pain relief to cold feet. Hot and Cold therapy used as pain management is a proven method of helping to relieve pain to various parts of the body and can also provide soothing comfort. An added bonus of hot and cold therapy, especially for pregnant women, is the natural and drug free properties it possesses.

The First Trimester

During the first trimester, the changes to a woman’s body can cause tender or swollen breasts and headaches, which can both be remedied by applying a warm or cold compress to the affected areas. Additionally, morning sickness or nausea can occur so laying down with a cold compress can be of great comfort.

The Second Trimester

The second trimester of a woman’s pregnancy is generally considered the easier of the three but is still not immune to uncomfortable symptoms. Many women begin to feel the weight of both the baby and the extra weight they have gained, causing pain in the back, legs, hips and groin.  Applying heat therapy to any of these areas will help soothe the discomfort and provide some much needed relief.

The Third Trimester

Entering the third trimester signals that the end of pregnancy is near; however, it also brings the most discomfort of the pregnancy. The aches and pains that started in the second trimester become more pronounced and the growing belly can also become uncomfortable at times. A warm compress such as a microwaveable gel, oat or clay pad can bring the relief that is needed.  The use of cold therapy during pregnancy third trimester can also be beneficial.  Swollen feet and hands are a common symptom of pregnancy but can be alleviated by the application of a cold compress. Additionally, some women can develop hemorrhoids during the third trimester, causing great distress; alas the power of cold therapy. A perineal cold pack applied to the area will help to numb the pain and provide a great deal of comfort.

Birth and After Care

The final phase of pregnancy involves childbirth, which undoubtedly brings significant pain and discomfort for most women. Prior to labor, studies have shown that applying heat therapy to the perineal area can help reduce tearing as the heat helps to increase blood circulation and in turn increases the flexibility of the area. There also has been sufficient evidence that suggests alternating hot and cold therapy to the lower back and abdomen during active labor can be an effective pain management solution.

Hot compress vs cold compress: There’s a lot of confusion about what and when to use, for pregnancy. Once the baby is born, there are still many uses for hot and cold therapy to aid in the healing process. Applying a cold compress to the perineal area can help ease pain and reduce swelling, while applying a warm compress can soothe the area while assisting in repairing any damage caused by labor.  While a woman is still on her journey to heal after giving birth, the focus quickly shifts to breastfeeding for many women.  Breast engorgement can occur and can be a very uncomfortable experience; applying a cold compress to the breast provides much needed instant relief as the cold works to reduce the swelling.  A warm compress applied to the breast can also be applied prior to breastfeeding as the heat encourages the let down of milk, resulting in a more successful feeding.

Wrapping it Up

After interviewing and researching the efficiency of hot and cold therapy as pain management during the pre and post-natal stages, Rapid Aid proudly offers product solutions that will help a woman from pregnancy through till the end of breastfeeding.

Caution: It is always recommended to use hot or cold therapy for no more than 20 minutes at a time.

For more information on hot and cold therapy products ideally suited for pre and post partum, please browse our Maternity products section or contact one of our sales agents.

 

 

OVERVIEW
The mind-numbing pain of a muscle injury or ailment can cause you to lose focus, and you may be unable to decide whether to treat it with hot or cold therapy. But fret not, injuries carry tell-tale signs that can signal whether you should reach for a cold or warm compress as the best treatment option.

HEAT THERAPY
Heat therapy is used to heal many musculoskeletal injuries that are more chronic such as, but not limited to, a pulled muscle, joint pain, back pain, pinched nerve, and arthritis. Heat therapy works by boosting circulation and blood flow, which in turn allows oxygen and nutrients to refuel the joints and muscles in the body. This process helps to repair damaged tissues and muscles while relieving inflammation in the affected area. An excellent example of when to use heat therapy is when you want to cure sore or tight muscles. Here, the heat acts as a catalyst for blood flow, which improves circulation to your muscles and allows them to relax. Heat therapy can be applied in many ways, such as with a hot water bottle or a microwaved gel or oat compress. Using heat therapy for 15-20 minutes will provide great relief to the affected area.

COLD THERAPY
If your injury is acute, for instance, one that came on suddenly in the aftermath of a hard fall, cold therapy works best. Immediately decreasing pain and swelling, the cold constricts blood vessels while working to reduce inflammation at the injury’s location. Cold therapy also reduces nerve activity temporarily, offering comfort for the patient while helping heal the affected area. Using a cold compress, such as ice or a refrigerated gel pack on the affected area for 15–20 minutes, will aid in a fast recovery.

RAPID AID’S HOT AND COLD THERAPY OFFERINGS
Hot and Cold therapy is an inexpensive, proven, and safe alternative to medication while providing the user with almost immediate comfort. Rapid Aid boasts a portfolio of hot and cold therapy products that includes instant products, reusable gels, wellness and comfort products that feature oats and clay, and products targeted for pre or post-natal discomfort. The application uses of our products is limitless as they can treat nearly every part of the body as needed. Rapid Aid proudly has treated millions of bumps and bruises around the world with its traditional approach to health care, and we continue to develop innovative products to help provide users with the comfort they deserve.

For more information on Rapid Aid’s commitment to an all-natural healthcare approach contact one of our sales agents today.

Nursing an Injury this Winter? Recovery Starts with Rapid Aid Instant Cold and Hot Packs for Injuries