Heating things up!

So today has been a bad day. I have pain but its more the tightness, stiffness and weakness in my arms and legs... mostly legs, hips and buttocks to be specific. It started last night at work. I could barely walk up and down the stairs to my office at work. By the time i got to the top I thought i would collapse. If anyone has ever had the unfortunate experience of having shin splints it was kind of similar to that feeling but in my entire legs, hips and lower back. Needless to say I spent most of last night at work sitting at the end of the concession counter ordering my awesome staff around. I think they are beginning to understand when i'm having a bad day and how to treat me. After work i went to check on my best girl friend LL and make sure she was doing ok since she just got out of the hospital herself. of course ice cream was a necessary part of this visit. it make anything better. More in a post to come about my obsessive love of ice cream.

Anywho, after i had only been at her house a short while I could barely stand the pain anymore, and i was even wearing my TENS unit at the time which is supposed to block pain ( a review on this is coming soon too). I hugged LL and petted Turkey and went hobbling out the door to my car. I joke with liz that i was headed home to make love to my heating pad. That moment is when i realized that one of the main things i rely on to sooth me on a daily basis is moist heat. I have multiple heating pads, warming blankets, microwaveable heating devices and some that heat using a chemical reaction.. Im going to give you some brief  insight into my favorites, focusing mainly on items that are reusable and not disposable.

THE TRADITIONAL HEATING PAD
 - this is my go to item, and my longest time friend. The one i have has served me well for a very long time and im a little afraid when it bites the dust, I wont be able to find another one as good. I have tried some of these newer heating pads and they just dont get hot enough. this thing gives off some serious heat. Ive never even had a need for the high setting. I need that deep penetrating heat to get any relief. These new wimpy little heating pads just don't cut it. Mine looks about like the one below and was my one true love until I discovered a heating pad that my room mate had lying around in our storage room. Its a king size version of mine and is long enough to be able to heat my entire back/neck/ glutes. I saw  some in the store today that have straps and bands on the king size ones so that you can position them and they wont slide off. Im interested to try one of those in the future. Both of these are great for daily use by themselves or with pain relieving creams and rubs. I also like to use mine before and after i do stretches to help me get and stay loose.  I have even been known to take my heating pad in my car with me on long drives so keep my pain down. I have a power converter in my car that comes in very handy for things like this!

There are many variations on this basic heating pad that include specialty designs for lower back, neck ,shoulder, knees etc. I purchased one of these at RiteAid when my lower back started giving me trouble. I  actually like the one I bought quite a bit, the only problem is it never got hot enough for me personally. It is made by a company called Dunlap and s marketed under the product line KAZ. The actually have a broad selection of heating pads. Check them out here. The one i bought is pictured above. It has stretchy wrap around arms with Velcro so that you ca get it in just the right place to sooth your pain.The Velcro has a generous fabric edge around it so that it wont scratch your skin. The fabric is soft and since it doesn't get super hot you can use it under clothes. the plug adapter placement is a little strange especially if you want to use it while sitting instead of laying down. This back wrap also works great for my abdomen when i have have bad menstrual cramps. the nice part is with the velcro i can wear it while laying in bed and it stays in place. It also has a cord release so that if you do need to get up you can unhook yourself without having to take the heating device off completely.

So all of these electric heating devices are great when you are at home, but what about at work? or car (if you don't have a power converter) or the gym or airplane or anywhere else for that matter. I have purchased many a product to deal with the pain of sitting for long hours and not being able to get comfortable.
My first attempt at portable heat was a "Microwavable Comfort Wrap" basically fleece tube filled with rice and lavender made by Earth Therapeutics. This wrap is cozy and soft and smells good but  its down fall is that it has to be microwaved and doesn't really hold heat for an extended period of time ( about 1 hour). But most people, hotels, etc have microwaves so you can get it reheated pretty easily. The positive is that it also can be chilled in the freezer to provide cooling relief. The other nice part is that you can make one of these at home with ease and save yourself the $10+ bucks at the drugstore. -here are some instructions : Sewing required you can also make these using fabric glue, or hot glue instead if you are not a sewer.

My next foray into portable heat came when i was at a Helen Brett jewelry show a little over a year ago. Among the myriad of vendors was a guy with a simple set up: he has some hot plates and some pots with boiling water. As i watched him pull these little warming pads out of the water i became intrigued especially when he told me that the boiling wasnt how they got hot, it was how you reset them to their liquid state so they can be reused. The heat is created by a chemical reaction. Here is a video of how the pads work. They are  reusable over 500 times and stay warm for hours. They heat to 130 degrees in about 60 seconds. They come in all shapes and sized for whatever aches you. I love mine and it works great. the only down fall is that it has to be boiled to be reset so you can use it again, this fact isn't very convenient when you are traveling, the hotel receptionist might look at you funny when you ask to go into the kitchen and use some boiling water. Also they aren't exactly cheap. I paid over $30 for my neck/shoulder one pictured in the video. But they are beginning to pop with better deals online so shop around

 

Today on my way to work in excruciating pain, I hobbled into Walmart to try and find something to help with my leg and lower back pain. I was desperate for some moist heat to relieve the tightness and unfortunately as i mentioned above my gel pack needed to be boiled and i was too lazy. So i bought some tiger balm to go along with my Arnica gel, and  I bought two homeopathic treatments for leg cramps/ leg pain and restless legs that are made by a company called Hylands. I'm actually amazed at the expanding offerings Walmart has begun to carry as far as alternative and homeopathic/ natural remedies. Ill give a full review once I've taken the entire bottle. But at the moment it seems to be helping my legs. I'm not in as much pain as I was earlier, so thats always a plus.

This emergency trip to Walmart is where my most recent contact with portable heat occurred. I was standing in the isle of the pharmacy part of Walmart, barely able to bend down looking at all of the options. Buying another heating pad seemed sooo tempting at the moment but the reality was i count stay plugged in all night at work no matter how much pain I was in. So i grabbed a mist heat back wrap and decided I'd settle for having to microwave my treatments all night. Surprisingly this product is not a settle. Its fantastic, and a say that as i am currently still sitting here at work wearing it. There is no buyers remorse in this purchase.

This  wrap is made by a company called Thermalon When I took the Moist Heat Back Wrap out of the package, the first thing I noticed was the fabric.it was soft but sturdy. It has channels so the material being heated stays evenly distributed. Its also can be hand washed with soap which is great as we all know easy care products are important for people with FMS. Its so easy to use it has an Ease of Use commendation by the Arthritis Foundation.

The second thing i noticed was that the tie arms had no itchy Velcro and clip or snap fasteners. you just tie it like a bath robe, so you can position it at any position and tightness you like or not tie it at all. It allows for freedom of movement and again ease of use. I have a feeling this is going to be my new best friend at work.

If you have found other great heat products, Id love to hear about them. please leave me comments and share links to where we can find them! i have a feeling the arena of moist heat is going to continue to develop in some amazing ways