How I Use a Clay Moist Heat Pack on the Back

It sounds so obvious - when your back hurts, apply heat to relax the muscles. Indeed, many doctors have told me that application of heat and/or cold could help my back. But it was my husband that first swore by the "moist" part of "moist heat." He'd been surprised when his excruciating case of pleurisy (a painful lung condition where it hurts to breathe) was most helped by a remedy as simple and ancient as moist heat applied to the chest. He thought it might help my back, too.

It did. A lot. I was thrilled. But we encountered a problem. It was hard to apply moist heat. Hard to keep the cloths hot. Hard to carry water around. Hard not to burn our hands. The heat never lasted long enough.

I use this mid-size hot pack wrapped in a towel once daily.

We tried scalding hot cloth diapers - yes, those plush white cloths that are made to hold lots of liquid. They were effective but laborious to apply and I couldn't do it alone when my back attacked me.

I tried moist electric heating pads. They were not powerful enough. I tried dry heating pads and microwaved gel packs; they did nothing. The moisture part was apparently important.

Then a few years ago, I stumbled on a different kind of hot pad called a hydrocollator pack. It sounded like some kind of newfangled fancy technology, but it's basically a canvas-wrapped pack of clay particles that when heated in boiling water release great quantities of steam for a LONG time. The steam enters the skin's pores, penetrates deeply into the muscles, and brings circulation to the traumatized muscles.

Using the hot pack, or hot pad, as I usually call it, provides me almost immediate pain relief that often lasts for hours, even when there is inflammation in the area and my logical mind tells me steam should make the inflammation worse.

Disclaimer: If you try this hot pack, it may do nothing for you. For all I know, it may make your pain worse. I hope not. I honestly doubt it. But then, I'm not a healthcare professional. So please be careful, and take precautions not to burn your skin, as can always happen with steam.


What I use is this clay-filled hot pack similar to the kind that is used in hospitals. It's not electric; it's not microwavable; it's an old-fashioned thing you heat up on the stove.

The pack is lightweight before use because the clay fill is still dried out. Once you rehydrate it, it gets heavier. Note the dark and light tabs on the corners of the pack. They are there as a grip for tongs when lifting out of the boiling water. The horizontal crease down the center is so it can be folded to fit in a pot.

When you're not using it, you're supposed to keep it stored in the freezer or a hydrocollator (a machine used by hospitals that stores hot water). We don't have a hydrocollator. Our freezer is often full. I generally keep mine in a pot on my stovetop that's always filled with room-temperature tap water.

When I want to use the pad, I:

1. Fill up the pot with water so it entirely covers the hot pack.
   
2. Turn on the burner and boil the hot pack for a few minutes at full boil
3. Turn off the burner, cover, and let it sit for about twenty minutes
4. Using a tongs, lift the steaming hot pack carefully out of the pot and onto a waiting big, plush towel
5. Fold the towel around the hot pack multiple times.

I have wrapped this linen-and-cotton bath towel three times around the 10" x 12" wet hot pack.

Then I apply the towel-wrapped hot pad to my lower back through my clothes. The heat feels good. If it's too hot for comfort, I add more toweling between my skin and the pad. If it's not hot enough, I remove a layer.

I apply the pad for 15 minutes to 30 minutes, moving it around some, from my waist down to almost my knees. The idea is to bring heat and circulation to all the muscles that feed into my lower back. I am always amazed when the pack holds enough steam to last this long, though I usually have to unwrap the towel as the pad loses heat.

The biggest challenge using this is not getting scalded by the extreme heat. This can take a bit of trial and error, but is easily solved by adjusting towel layers and adjusting how hot or cool the hot pad is when you start.

I have to say here that there are times when boiling a hot pack is more trouble than I can manage.  For those times, I use this moist electric heating pad. It's convenient; I like it okay; it works in a pinch. But the steam it provides is mild at best. Since the moisture in the pad comes from water vapor in the air, when the room dries up, so does the pad. It's not as effective for me as the clay-filled pad.

Do you use a hot pad for your back? Cold pad? Do you alternate? I'd love to hear what works for you.