Looking for a good heating therapy pad

November 5, 2011 11:46 AM

Hi, I have been looking for a good heat therapy bag for a while but haven't been able to find a good model. The only problem is they do not get hot enough to feel the difference, no matter on what setting or how long you keep them on. I have tried heating pads from Sunbeam, Softheat, etc. Does anyone here know a good model? Thanks.
posted by musicgold to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

Best answer: I would ask a physical therapist. They know sources for ordering those kind of products that are better than what you would find in the pharmacy or normal retail store. For instance, I needed an ice pack that was an especially large size and my PT referred me to a company that made great ice packs, designed for physical therapy, that were a better quality than the ones I had gotten at CVS.
posted by dottiechang at 12:06 PM on November 5, 2011

I have never been able to find heat I could buy that did for me what the giant ugly PT office pad does. Good luck and maybe join a gym with a steam room.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 2:49 PM on November 5, 2011

Yeah definitely ask a PT or massage therapist, or go to a store that specializes in PT/OT-type stuff. Sometimes you can find good "home medical" stuff at old-timey drugstores. I have to buy my ice packs on Amazon.
posted by radioamy at 3:31 PM on November 5, 2011

Try Thermophore heating pads. Recommended by a friend/PT when I needed a heating pad for a shoulder problem. I ordered mine from Amazon.com, where the prices were (slightly) better.
posted by bCat at 4:24 PM on November 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, bCat gave you what I came in here to recommend -- I've got this one, though mine does not have a timer on it, mine has just a switch that you hold off/on, that releases automatically if you take your hand off of it. This thing gets hot, probably you could put it onto your car to remove paint from it if you needed to do so. I wished that it had a thermostat but I suspect that the reason that they don't want to do that is because to leave heat on your bones too long is supposedly bad for them (or is that an old wives tale?) I know if I could adjust the heat to where I'd want it to stay I'd have stayed on the thing WAY longer, when I had those nasty injuries. If it's heat you want, this one is The Way.
posted by dancestoblue at 6:42 PM on November 5, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks a lot folks.
posted by musicgold at 4:41 AM on December 6, 2011