The Heat is ON: Thermacare Heat Wraps

Lainey

I am old.  I try to ignore it most of the time, but I have arthritis in my back and really, that makes it pretty hard to ignore the old.  Also, not at all related to being old, but it is the one thing I'm looking forward to getting rid of as I get older - I get wicked cramps and low back pain every month, like horrendously painful.  Anyway, now that I've actually written an article wherein I sound like my grandmother, let me get to the actual point for you.

Go buy some Thermacare Heat Wraps. Do it. Go get them. You go get them and you put them on wherever you have muscle pain. They're amazing! I've tried all the different styles - the upper back/shoulder one, the menstrual patch one, the arthritis knee one, and the low back/hips wrap around one. That last one is my favorite. It's a soft stretchy "belt" with Velcro on the end. The others all have sticky stuff on the back and I don't love those as much, because the sticky wears off really easily. You can't move it around after you've stuck it in place, unlike the low back/hips one.

For the purpose of this review, I'm referring specifically to the low back/hip wrap Thermacares. They come 2 to a box and each wrap is in its own package. Once you open the package and expose the wrap to the air, it activates the heat thingers. There are 10ish heat thingers (YES, that IS the scientific name for them, get off my back!) spread over the surface of the wrap pad. You put the pad where you're having muscle pain - lower back, on your abdomen, middle of your back, wherever. You could probably wrap it around your leg or upper arm a couple of times, if your pain is in one of your limbs, but I've only used it on my back and abdomen. They come in two sizes and I get the L/XL size, because a) they're easier to find and b) I like to be comfortable and would rather have to wrap the belt around further, than to have it be too short and digging into me.

As I mentioned above, the "belt" is stretchy and soft and the pad that has the heat thingers is also soft, so you can wear it directly against your skin without it rubbing or irritating or poking at you. The heat thingers get quite warm, but they don't burn. Thermacare advertises that they last up to 8 hours, but I've regularly worn them for 10 - 12 hours and they've stayed really warm for all that time. It's impressive, really! It's not often you find a product that lasts longer than it's supposed to.

I buy them in bulk (I'm not joking) and make sure that I always have one at work and at least one at home, because my back hurts often and it's just not practical to walk around with a heating pad plugged in all the time. They're not cheap (around $6.00 for a package of two), but you can often find coupons online and lately on the boxes themselves. To me, they're really worth the price. They provide long-lasting, deep heat, and they're easy to fit under your clothes. They move with you and don't need to be reheated, unlike traditional heating pads or heated gel packs.

I give the Thermacare Heat Wraps 8 out of 8 tentacles and would definitely recommend them if you have muscle and/or menstrual pain.

Rating: 8/8 tentacles