Polar Products Active Ice® 3.0 Large Universal Rectangular Pad Cold Therapy System with Programmable Digital Timer,16 Quart Cooler, Quiet Pump, Strong Cryotherapy Pain Relief Treatment

This unit is a little pricey BUT it is well worth the investment-especially for post surgical pain. When asking a couple of medical professionals, each said they had heard good things about them but didn't recommend because of the cost and that ice packs will do just as well. Our experience is that post surgical pain is much more easily managed with ice therapy. There’s no doubt that this machine has reduced the need for pain medication and kept pain/swelling under control. It circulates very cold water that doesn’t get warm like ice packs. The timer is its best feature as you aren’t putting on and taking off ice packs every 20 minutes and works continuously throughout the night without any extra work. We freeze one gallon and one half gallon jug of water which last much longer than smaller containers. With two sets of jugs, one can be used in unit while the other freezes. Our experience has been that the jugs need switching out about every 12 hours. We placed small bowls in the very bottom of the unit to keep the ice jugs from putting pressure on (sitting on top of)the pump. This unit works well and makes life much easier for the caregiver! My only suggestion would be for the manufacturer to add a grid for the bottom of the unit to protect the pump which has a plastic housing. Four years later…. Still love this unit! It’s been used by me and several of my friends. This week I had a small issue and needed a part so I called the 800 number and was promptly greeted by a person who knew exactly what I need and is getting it shipped right away! Their customer service is second to none!

I had knee surgery and it worked amazing at keeping down the swelling

I sort of stumbled into buying this machine and have been using it for a few weeks. I have a Breg that's wonderful, but I wanted a large mat to help keep my Bernese Mountain Dog cool. I ordered one from this manufacturer, but alas, the connections between Polar Products and Polar Care (Breg) don't match up. I ended up ordering this ice machine simply to make use of the larger cooling pad. The good: I much prefer using frozen water bottles to ice. The 38"x22" pad works great for a large dog. The 12.5"x22.5" universal pad works well for my lower back. The timer works fine and adds several feet to the power cord. That's very helpful since the power cord is pretty short. The bad: The reservoir is a standard Coleman 16 qt cooler that retails for about $18. The pump is one of those tiny pet watering pumps, maybe $6. A couple hoses and a plate ... and the materials to manufacture the entire system (excluding pad) cost about as much as the price to upgrade from the 9qt to the 16 qt cooler. If I run into issues later on, I'll come back to update this review.

I originally bought the smaller version but found having to switch out frozen water bottles every 4 hours or so inconvenient in the first week after surgery so I upgraded to the larger one. This machine is a MUST for orthopedic surgery recovery. The timer makes it easy to get the exact therapy your surgeon recommends. It also made it so I was able to stop all pain meds 3 days after surgery. I continue to use it, especially after physical therapy. I bought the universal pad so I could use it anywhere on my body where I have inflammation.

I had hip surgery last year and this system was amazing. My surgeon even had to tell me to limit my usage since I was using it all the time. It provided such relief and minimized the pain, which led to the use of only needing a very small amount of pain medication. I absolutely love this system and used it for many months. As for the Customer Service, 5 stars+++!!! I am having surgery again and was getting the system ready, but unfortunately noticed that it was leaking between the tubing and pad. I contacted Customer Service and asked if they had any suggestions on repairing the tubing/pad. They ended up sending me another pad, even though my warranty expired almost 2 months ago. I was completely shocked and so extremely grateful. The gentleman that I spoke with was very kind and helpful. I can't say enough good things about this product or this company. This is a must have for surgeries, injuries, or just to use when needed. You won't be disappointed!!!

The machine works great. It will get your body part as cold as you want it. It has plenty control flexibility to get you where you want to be. Frozen water bottles last me 16 hours.

After about a month the pump stopped working, no response from the seller.

I wish I had had this for every surgery I have ever had! This has a patent pending control module that will cycle automatically between cold, chilled water and a resting period. This is critically important and is easily adjustable. This allowed me to sleep with the cold bag, so I received ice therapy 24/7 for my first 48 post surgery hours. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS MACHINE. IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!