How to Use Moist Heat Therapy for Muscle Pain Relief

The benefits of heat therapy are undeniable and truly impressive. Heat therapy can relieve stiffness and improve circulation by opening blood vessels - relieving pain from arthritis, tennis elbow, sinus headaches, TMJ, aching feet, shoulder and back pain, and many more conditions!

But how does moist heat compare to dry heat therapy? There are many advantages to using moist heat therapy over traditional dry heat:

Deeper Muscle Penetration

Because water transfers heat better than air moist heat therapy delivers more heat directly to your skin without losing heat in the transfer process. The result of this greater heat transfer efficiency is that more of the heat makes its way deep into muscles, joints, ligaments and soft tissue. This deep muscle penetration is great for athletes; because blood flow and oxygen levels are increased the healing process is accelerated.

Faster Relief of Pain

Moist heat pads are able to relax and penetrate the muscle faster due to the wet heat. As the muscle heats up blood quickly rushes in and starts the healing process. People who use moist heat therapy report that they start feeling more relaxed faster each time they do the therapy and get better faster overall.

Does Not Dry Out Skin

Dry heat therapy tends to pull moister away from skin causing it to dry out. Think about what happens to your skin when it gets too hot inside your house - your skin gets dry and can crack if you do not apply moisturizing lotion. The same is true of heat therapy. Applying direct heat to your skin will leave your skin drier over time. Moist heat therapy, on the other hand, doesn’t wick moister away from your body. Leaving your skin warmed without drying it out.

Longer-Term Pain Relief

While people using moist heat therapy tend to report that their pain symptoms are relived faster, they also report that on average the pain relief lasts longer- reducing the need to use heat therapy as often. People with chronic conditions like arthritis who use moist heat packs regularly tend to require moist heat therapy less often than when using dry heat therapy. Fewer applications are required due to the increase in blood flow and oxygen levels that allows quicker muscle and tendon healing.

Thermotech moist heat packs do not have any of the drawbacks traditionally associated with in-home moist heat therapy units. Thermotech moist heating pads plug in to a power outlet just like a regular heating pad and have a safety switch that prevents burning if you fall asleep while using them.

Also, Thermotech packs do not require water be added before or during use. Instead, they pull moisture from the surrounding air to create the moister required. Thermotech also makes their moist heat pads in a variety of sizes and styles to effectively relieve pain from large areas like backs and shoulders to small areas like sinuses and jaws. They even have cuffs for use on elbows, wrists, and ankles! If you are in need of moist heat therapy check out Thermotech automatic moist heat packs today!

Caution: Do not use moist heat therapy if you have an existing skin condition, open wound, bruising, diabetes, or any heart-related disorder.