I personally believe that the majority of recovery from physical exhaustion is best done with sleep, nutrition, and stretching. As long as you do these three items consistently and at a high enough quality, you should feel pretty well recovered throughout the week.
However, sometimes it’s nice to have other things that double down on your efforts to relieve soreness.
In that case, icing has always been a go to for me. Whether I just finished a rugby match in high school or completed a stupidly long run on Thanksgiving. And if you want the ultimate ice pack, then the KT Health Ice Sleeve is it!
(If something seriously hurts though, please go to a doctor or specialist.)
Mystical Materials
I use plenty of different things as ice packs, ranging from ice in a baggie to frozen peas. All fairly light weight things.
Not this though! The Ice Sleeve is surprisingly heavy and substantial in the sealable package. Pulling it out, the fabric is exceptionally soft and feels even more magical on the inside of the sleeve with silk-like smoothness.
And I don’t know what the jelly/rubber material is on the inside, but it’s perfectly balanced between tight compression and a loving hug. I don’t use this thing all the time, but after a couple months the sleeve doesn’t show any signs of loosening or wear.
I typically wear this after taking a shower at night, so it doesn’t even smell bad.
Peak Icing
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I was initially hesitant to use KT’s Ice Sleeve at first. My go to approach to icing with a bag of frozen peas, and a belt to secure them, has never let me down. (Only when we eat all of the peas are there problems.)
But, after using this over the last few weeks, I don’t plan on using peas again. So much so, that I now take this on trips, just in case my ankle, knee, or arms unexpectedly hurt or ache. And here’s why.
When you put it on, after it’s been in the freezer for 3-4+ hours, it slides on nice and easy. The cold initially feels nice but quickly intensifies to the point you may think “this kind of hurts”. That overwhelming chill lasts 5-15 seconds.
From then on, you have a calmingly cool, restorative experience.
After having the sleeve on for 20 minutes, you take it off and it seriously feels like your body has started to reset and better heal. And if you use this thing before going to sleep, then you might have a slightly better night because of how relaxing it can be.
I love this thing! Especially because it saves me time. The days of rotating a bag of peas around the sore spots for an hour are over. I can just put on the sleeve and the whole area ices at once.
The Recap
As time goes by and try new things, I become more rigid in my opinions and preferences. Once I find something that works, it takes a lot for me to move away and try something different.
It’s pretty rare that I completely shift gears and consistently use something new. But the KT Health Ice Sleeve has done exactly that.
I don’t know if it’s the cold compression, calming affects before bed, or having soreness remedied more quickly that makes me like the sleeve so much.
But I do know that I won’t be going back to my past favorite combo of frozen peas and a belt.