Are you an athlete or fitness enthusiast who often suffers from sore muscles or minor injuries? Or, have you recently had or plan to have surgery and want to make plans to recover as quickly and comfortably as possible? If so, cold therapy should be added to your recovery regimen. Cold therapy—also known as cryotherapy—simply means applying cold to your injured areas to reduce blood flow, limit inflammation, and keep swelling to a minimum. Not only does cold therapy help you recover more quickly, but it also reduces pain during the recovery time.

If you want to use cold therapy, you might be thinking that simple ice packs are the way to go. However, investing in a cold therapy machine like the Breg Polar Care Kodiak can take your recovery to the next level. Here’s how to decide which option is best for you. 

What is a Cold Therapy Ice Machine?

A cold therapy machine like the Breg Polar Care Kodiak is a unit designed specifically to apply cold therapy and compression to an injured part of the body. With its even temperature distributions and pads designed to fit certain parts of the body, a cold therapy machine can harness the power of cold therapy and use it to its best advantage. 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ice Packs

There are many advantages to using ice packs, which is why they are still widely available today and are often the go-to for sore muscles or minor injuries. Ice packs are inexpensive, portable, and can be purchased nearly anywhere. You can even make your own at home with a Ziplock bag and some ice. 

Ice packs do have some drawbacks, though. There is no way to regulate the temperature, they can get messy if they leak, and you need to find a way to keep them cold if you want to use them for a prolonged period of time. They are also hard to keep in place and don’t offer compression benefits unless paired with a wrap, brace, or other device.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Cold Therapy Ice Machines 

Cold therapy machines like the Breg Polar Care Kodiak offer all the advantages of ice packs with the added benefit of compression, wraps that are designed for specific body parts, and the ability to regulate the temperature and provide constant cold for hours at a time. The only disadvantage to a cold therapy machine is the price, though, at less than $150, it’s a good investment for anyone who is recovering from surgery or experiences frequent injuries.

Breg Polar Care Kodiak Machine or Ice Pack: Which is Best for You?

Only you can decide which method of cold therapy is right for you. If you rarely need cold therapy and ice packs seem to do the trick, there may be no need for an ice machine. However, if you have a long recovery from surgery in the future or if you’re an athlete who frequently needs cold therapy, an ice machine like the Breg Polar Care Kodiak could be the best investment you can ever make.