I recently sprained my ankle walking the golf course and have alot of swelling. I have ice packs and a heating pad at home but the beauty of ice sleeve is I can strap it to my ankle and go about my business. I even take it to work, wear it for a while, then throw the gel pack in the freezer for later use. In the package there are two gel packs so I can use one, put it in the freezer and take out the other. They also include plastic bags that seal if you want to throw in some ice and put it inside the ice sleeve. Better yet, the gel packs can be microwaved if you want to alternate hot & cold. Like I said... great product