That’s cool! The ‘ice machine’ easing pain of arthritis sufferers
IT IS a gadget that athletes including boxer David Haye swear by in helping them to recover from injury. But now hilotherapy – a device that pumps cool water in to variously shaped cuffs – is proving to be an effective way to ease the pain of arthritis. The machine offers a hope of respite for millions of patients currently relying on strong painkillers to cope with the condition.
Iced compresses have long been used to reduce inflammation and promote healing in arthritic or injured joints, but the unique selling point of a hilotherapy machine is that it keeps water at a controlled and consistently cool temperature for hours.
Studies have shown that such extended use can potentially allow a rapid reduction in the inflammation that causes pain for arthritis sufferers, and may speed up healing after an injury or surgery.
Facial surgeons already use the device, manufactured by German company Hilotherm, to reduce postoperative swelling.
Retired travel agent Jenny Bakewell, from Stratford-uponAvon, found the hilotherapy machine worked wonders on her arthritic right knee joint, which had swelled up to more than double its normal size.
‘Before using the machine I couldn’t get up and down the stairs and could barely walk. Even getting in and out of the car was difficult. It was a nagging pain that was always there,’ says the 78-year-old.
She used the device for three hours a day over four weeks and saw the swelling subside and her knee return to its normal size. She was also able to stop using the strong painkillers she had been relying on.
‘I couldn’t believe the results,’ she says. ‘Both my knees look the same size now. I don’t use the machine regularly any longer – I just don’t need to. Now I only use it from time to time when I see the knee is getting puffy again.
‘It doesn’t get rid of the arthritis – nothing can do that – but it makes life more bearable.’
Dr Tom Margham, of Arthritis Research UK, says: ‘Any treatment for arthritis which allows people to take fewer painkillers is a good thing. Making the nerve endings very cold means they don’t transmit the pain messages as well.
‘I’ve seen the idea of a temperature controlled fluid machine before used for acute sports injuries but I’ve never heard of it being used for arthritis.’
As Dr Margham points out, the use of ice and/or heat around a sore joint has long been accepted. ‘Both are recommended as a form of pain relief for osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis,’ he says.
‘We particularly recommend applying ice when you have a flare-up. Frozen peas or gel packs in the freezer or fridge would work too. We recommend putting them on the joint affected for at least ten minutes.’
However, the use of ice packs or similar home-made solutions could damage skin in the long term as extreme cold can burn in the same way as extreme heat.
‘What’s really new about this machine is the fact that you can control the temperature at the level you want and it’s easier to wear for a longer time because of this,’ says physiotherapist Sammy Margo.
He points out that a patient’s tolerance of extreme cold can vary widely.
‘The physiology behind the hilotherapy machine makes so much sense.
‘A mixture of ice and compression will help deal with inflammation and reduce swelling. The cold will have an effect on the pain receptors. ‘It’s essentially an automated version of what physiotherapists have been carrying out for many years.’ Available currently only at private clinics, hilotherapy treatment costs from around £40 per hour-long session.
However, the machines are available to hire at home for £50 a week or to buy outright for around £1,850.