turn up the heat!

 “Turning up the heat” on someone isn’t necessarily a good thing, if you’ve had to figuratively increase the pressure on them, trying to make something happen.  But if you literally turn up the heat on medical conditions like arthritis, back or muscle strain, or sports injuries, you can produce a very positive outcome.

Heat therapy, also known as thermotherapy, is the application of heat to the body for pain relief and health. Heat can be applied to specific areas of the body, such as muscles, joints, and soft tissue, via hot cloth, hot water, ultrasound, heating pads or packs, whirlpool baths, far infrared (FIR) heat therapy wraps, and many other applications. It can help ease the pain and discomfort of arthritis and similar conditions, chronic back pain, stiff muscles, and deep-tissue injuries to the skin. Heat can be an easy, palliative, and effective treatment for many painful conditions, and is often used for rehabilitative purposes.

While some heating devices use dry heat, moist heat therapy is believed to be more effective at warming tissues, because water transfers heat more quickly than air.  Studies have shown that water is a more efficient conductor of heat than air by up to 25%.  Body tissues are able to tolerate moist heat at a higher temperature than dry heat, producing the soothing feeling that the tissue is heated more deeply.  The concentrated heat penetrates painful body tissues, dilating blood vessels and promoting circulation in the area, easing pain and muscle spasm and allowing better movement and comfort.

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The main goal of heat therapy is to expand, or dilate, the blood capillaries, increasing blood flow to the painful or affected area.  This increased circulation brings proteins, nutrients, and oxygen to the area, while eliminating toxins and waste, facilitating more efficient healing.  Therapeutically, heat increases the elasticity of collagen tissues, decreases joint stiffness, reduces pain and inflammation, relieves muscle spasms, reduces edema, and generally helps in longer-term phases of healing.

So what is the best way to turn up the heat on moist thermotherapy? 

The Michael Graves Therma Moist Heating Pad by Drive Medical is ideal in the treatment of arthritis, back pain, sprains and strains, muscle soreness, neck pain, headaches and sports related injuries. This heating device utilizes the engineering influence of American architect Michael Graves, known as much for his innovative and stylish home product designs as for his award-winning contemporary architecture.  Although an illness paralyzed Graves from the waist down in 2003, he is still active in his design practice.

The Michael Graves Therma Moist Heating Pad features a positioning strap with Velcro closure to ensure a secure, proper fit for maximum thermotherapy treatment. As a product user reported, “Because of the Velcro straps that hold the heating pad in place I found that the heat was concentrated exactly where I needed it the most without having to re-adjust the pad every few minutes.”

According to other customer feedback, “The Therma Moist Petite Heating Pad heats up quickly and does get extremely hot on the highest setting... You can set the timer from 15 up to 60 minutes. It has a fairly long cord, and the heat does have a moist feel.”  

The pad has four heat settings, ranging from 150-165 degrees, and four time settings, from 15-60 minutes, allowing for varying heat intensity and duration.  It is designed with safety in mind; it automatically shuts off after treatment time has elapsed, and, to prevent accidents, the unit temperature must be at zero degrees in order for the hand control to turn on.

The pad’s outer, flannel cover provides both effectiveness and comfort.  It draws the air’s humidity and retains it, releasing the moisture directly onto the treated area once the pad warms. The soft textured flannel cover is removable and washes easily.  The pad comes in two different sizes, and with the adjustable Velcro strap, gives ideal coverage of different-sized body areas, from hands and knees to backs.  

The best thermotherapy products are the ones that can maintain moist heat at the proper temperature to a specific area for an optimal time.  The ergonomically designed, comfortable moist heat therapy of Drive Medical’s Michael Graves Therma Moist heating pad provides complete therapeutic benefits and soothing relief every time you use it.