“An athlete’s ability to comply with your treatment protocol, outside the training facility, should always be considered.”
Ninety-Day Trial:
FIRSTEP Self-adhering Donut Pads
We had the opportunity at the Navy to improve our standard of care for the early management of ankle injuries by doing some product development work culminating in a brief study by Ray Chronister, ATC, US Naval Academy (Retired).
In a ninety-day trial of overnight compression wrap therapy to manage swelling, our athlete compliance, recovery time and costs all improved significantly using the self-adhering FIRSTEP Donut Pads from Protekt Motion.
We had 100% athlete compliance!
The self-adhering feature of the pad is important. It allows one to shower or do cold-water therapy with the pads in place. The problem of an unassisted re-wrap, trying to hold non-adhesive pads with one hand and wrap with the other, is resolved as both hands are now free to secure the wrap.
Pads for overnight compression wrap therapy compared to an approximate norm of 75% with non-adhesive pads. This solved our major early therapy non-compliance issue.
"New products that fit your protocol, improve efficiency and reduce cost greatly help those of us with big workloads and small budgets"
Our cost analysis of adhesive foam we cut into donut pads for overnight ankle compression wrap therapy or contusion pads revealed a cost exceeding $3 apiece, not including labor. An improved low cost, pre-cut solution, developed with the Naval Academy staff, surfaced at the NATA as Protekt Motion’s FIRSTEP™ Self-adhering Donut Pads.
Their attributes include:
1. sAVES MONEY, TIME MATERIAL, and LESS THAN HALF THE COST.
2. PROFESSIONAL LOOK and UNIVERSAL ONE SIZE, MANY USES.
3. sPACE SAVER IN PACKS/KITS, ALWAYS READY, NO DELAYS.
4. NEVER AGAIN HAVING TO HAND CUT ANOTHER DONUT PAD.
"I see great value in the FIRSTEP™ Compression Donut Pads".
Robert Huggins, MEd, ATC
Head Athletic Trainer - Club Sports Doctoral Candidate & Assistant Professor Kinesiology Department - University of Connecticut