Localized cooling is commonly used following orthopedic surgery and in sports medicine to reduce swelling, pain, inflammation, metabolism, muscle spasm, and bleeding[1,2]. The therapeutic application of cold therapy has a long history dating from the time of Hippocrates and has been widely documented in the literature[3,4]. Nonetheless, there remains to the present time considerable controversy over the appropriate protocol for application of cryotherapy and the risk factors associated with its use[5].

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