The most painful activities during the days following cardiac surgery are coughing and deep breathing exercises. Cold therapy is an effective nonpharmacological method that decreases the pain during coughing and mobilization. In this study, the effects of cold therapy on pain and breathing exercises among patients with median sternotomy following cardiac surgery were investigated in a randomized crossover clinical trial. Data were collected from patients with median sternotomy (N = 34) in the first two postoperative days.