I love my heating pad!

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InlineJinn
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2018
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Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2015 4:14 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5

I love my heating pad!

Post by InlineJinn »

Hi Free Spirits,

Searching didn't turn up any instances of "heating pad", so I hope this may be useful. I had been suffering from sore back muscles this rowing year. This wasn't from injury (I know what that feels like), but from taxing my back muscles several times a week. I was thinking it was just the cost of rowing a lot of meters (I had been 22nd on the Meterboard), but then I tried using a common electric heating pad. The first place is on the back of my office chair where I spend several hours every day. I've taken to heating my back muscles both before and after rowing, and when they feel sore. The second place is in bed before I go to sleep if my back muscles are still sore (the heating pad has an auto shut-off after a certain amount of time).

To my amazement, using the heating pad has almost completely eliminated my sore back muscles, so I can still pull the meters, but without the residual stiffness and soreness that made me quit rowing for awhile. Maybe the heat increases blood flow and speeds recovery? I've made it back to 32nd on the Meterboard, and am hoping to sneak back into the 20s while nobody is looking, so not a word to anyone in 31st or higher, OK? :-#

John B.
63, 5'8" lwt, C2 D PM5, started 1/2015, certified mileage nut but then I found hot yoga but then I hurt my shoulders but then I had surgery and now I can still row and do hot yoga yay!
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Paul Victory
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2016
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Re: I love my heating pad!

Post by Paul Victory »

Sounds like the answer to my prayers! I tend to suffer a lot from lower back pain and have cushions for my back at my desk, in my car, etc. etc. What kind of heating pad is it and where did you get it (and more importantly, where can I get it)?

Paul V
M 68 6'1" 124kg (May05), 92kg (Feb06), 122kg (Aug10), 95kg (Sep11), 117kg (Jun13), now 98kg
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InlineJinn
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2018
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2018
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2015 4:14 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5

Re: I love my heating pad!

Post by InlineJinn »

Hi Paul,
Paul Victory wrote:Sounds like the answer to my prayers! I tend to suffer a lot from lower back pain and have cushions for my back at my desk, in my car, etc. etc. What kind of heating pad is it and where did you get it (and more importantly, where can I get it)?
I got mine at the local Walgreens, which is a drug store chain in the US. I got the large size (24" x 12), and it came with a soft flannel cloth cover. I'm sure you can get them from any number of online stores as well, by searching for "electric heating pad". Thermacare Heat Wraps are also nice if you're on the go.

John B.
63, 5'8" lwt, C2 D PM5, started 1/2015, certified mileage nut but then I found hot yoga but then I hurt my shoulders but then I had surgery and now I can still row and do hot yoga yay!
InlineJinn
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2018
Friend of the Free Spirits web site 2018
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2015 4:14 pm
I row on...: Model D with PM5

Re: I love my heating pad!

Post by InlineJinn »

Hi,

Resurrecting this old thread with new information. According to the New York Times, heat can aid in restoring glycogen levels in depleted muscles:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/01/well ... rward.html
The conclusion:
As with the young men’s and women’s arms, the muscle fibers turned out to have recovered best after being heated — but only if they also had been exposed to glycogen. When the fibers had not received any refueling after their exercise, they did not regain their original power, even after pleasant warming. The lesson of these findings, published in the Journal of Physiology, seems to be that “warming muscles probably aids in recovery by augmenting the muscles’ uptake of carbohydrates,” says Arthur Cheng, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute, who led the study.

This study looked only at one aspect of recovery after exercise, however, concentrating on how tired muscles might best regain their ability to generate power. It cannot tell us whether warm baths might lessen muscle pain after long, hard exercise. (Unfortunately, most recent studies suggest that nothing substantially reduces this soreness, except time.) But the study does provide a rationale for filling your bathtub with warm water after a marathon or other hard exertion, grabbing a sports bar or chocolate milk to replace lost carbohydrates, and settling in for a long, revivifying soak.
After a workout, I've started putting my heating pad between my back and chair while I munch a bar, and it does seem to help--certainly with soreness the next day, and seemingly some with the energy recovery.

John B.
63, 5'8" lwt, C2 D PM5, started 1/2015, certified mileage nut but then I found hot yoga but then I hurt my shoulders but then I had surgery and now I can still row and do hot yoga yay!
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