SMI Cold Therapy
Revolutionizing Post-op Cold Therapy with Wraps

Cold therapy is a time-tested method that has been around for decades for relieving patients from pain, especially during any injury, strain in the muscle, or post-op recovery. However, both cooling machines and ice bags come with risks around trip hazards. They can cause condensation and leaks that prolong and delay the healing process and lengthen patient recovery. It reduces the blood flow and can also lead to tissue death or permanent nerve damage. Add to this the expenses associated with using a cooling machine and ice bags.

In 2004, SMI Cold Therapy was founded on the vision to simplify cold therapy for both patients and clinicians by offering simple American-made high-quality compression wraps. Embodying the concept of “simple is always better,” the company designs, manufactures, and distributes superior post-operative patient care products. “Our solution is a true value-add to the healthcare community, enabling staff to deliver easy patient care and reduce overall post care costs,” states David Hambro, the VP and National Sales Manager at SMI Cold Therapy.


In transforming the post-op cold therapy market, SMI has introduced its cold compression wraps with gel bags that allow end-users to keep their costs contained and save up to 60 percent. This revolutionary product also decreases the risks of infection and falls within an entire orthopedic/spine program. The proprietary straps on the compression wraps are extra-wide to offer superior compression and allow the cold to reach deeper for greater pain relief and edema reduction. It provides a snug fit with less slippage and easier ambulation without constricting blood circulation, increasing patient compliance. Along with this, SMI’s gel bags are long-lasting, non-toxic, and easily moldable, enabling increased comfort and cold therapy efficacy. Clinicians can fit these gel bags into the antimicrobial liner within the compression wraps, thus preventing condensation onto the surgical site and allowing direct, localized cold delivery for decreasing edema. The company also offers a private logo program for all its clients, where instead of SMI’s logo on the product, healthcare institutions can have their logos to meet their individual marketing goals.

With its extensive range of compression wraps, SMI focuses on all areas within the orthopedic field. These can deliver safe cold therapy for the knee, hip, shoulder, foot/ankle, hand/wrist/elbow, and pediatric wraps. It further enables cold treatment for the entire spine, from cervical to thoracic, right down to the lumbar region. With its growing acceptance, SMI will soon enter the oncology & ENT fields while maintaining a strong focus on orthopedics.

Our solution is a true value-add to the healthcare community, enabling staff to deliver easy patient care and reduce overall post care costs

More importantly, the company also supplies freezers throughout the patient pathway at no additional cost. “Adding more value to our products is our freezer program where our sales representatives go out to clients’ facilities and identify the appropriate places to place the freezers. We can place them in each patient room, which makes it easier for the nursing staff to access our gel bags and provide consistent treatment to patients,” adds Jeremy Adkins, the COO/CFO at SMI Cold Therapy.


One of the areas of differentiation for SMI is the localized agreements with health systems, even when tied to a highly committed GPO contract. While partnering with clients, SMI has shifted several of them from using ice bags to adopting its compression wraps. One such instance is its recent collaboration with a large facility in the Midwest. The company is also looking to partner with health systems to create an even more in-depth study on the cost of using ice bags and pain/opiate medication reduction along with the other improvements that SMI’s products can drive.


With improved patient care being its number one priority, SMI has an aggressive growth plan. The company is committed to maintaining its domestic operations in the U.S. while keeping up with its ‘ordered today, shipped today’ mantra and preventing any back-orders. SMI will also keep improving on its sales approach by going into facilities and meeting with decision-makers to demonstrate the efficiency of its products without completely relying on sales based on contracts. Like every other year since its inception, SMI has consistently had a year-over-year growth and will continue to do so with a growth rate of over 15 percent. “Even though we started out as a regionally-based company with a focus only on the Mid-Atlantic states, Rick Sell, the CEO of our company positively altered our direction. Under his leadership we soon realized the true value we add to health systems nationwide. With a vision to expand SMI, Sell brought together a skilled team of executives and sales representatives who have undertaken the journey to take SMI to new heights of success,” concludes Hambro.