BriteLeafs Far Infrared Therapeutic Rechargeable Cordless Pain Relief Heating Pad/Heating Wrap - Cordless, Rechargeable, Portable, Heat Lasts 2-3 Hours (24"x8")

To better understand this review, I have had both hips replaced, my back operated on many years ago and most recently had plasma rich platelet injections to try and ease the pain my back has been giving me for over 3 years. Pain management was the best I can do, but that wasn't getting it done. Each day I would wake up hardly able to walk and most days, 4-5 hours of sleep was considered an accomplishment. I have had countless days where I would wake up at 1-2 AM, and try to get back to sleep after getting the pain under control. It would also take at least one hour after medication and after waking up for the day for the pain to subside so I could go to work. I should also mention I have been in health care for over 30 years and did graduate study at a well known medical school. It wasn't long ago that I was introduced to the concept of FIR. I did a lot of research and reading and thought, given the levels of pain and lack of options, for around $60 plus and extra battery for $20, why not? Safety was not an issue and what did I have to lose?I was waiting for this product to arrive. The extra battery arrived a few days earlier just for some trivial fun facts. That night I was in so much pain, I had to come off my feet. Nothing was helping as usual, but this product arrived. Now, as you might guess, I've tried normal heating pads and there was no relief. The damage to my joints from a degenerative disease wasn't going to be helped from some surface heat. Given the dynamics of FIR, I thought it was a long shot because I hadn't hear of it, but again, nothing ventured, nothing gained..I immediately put this pad to work that night for two hours and despite the recommendations not to sleep with it, changed batteries and went to bed with it on, high setting. The battery lasts around 3 hours in case you're interested. Well, when I first put the pad to work I felt the heat but I also knew the real benefits of FIR were more than just heat. If you haven't researched it, I suggest you do. There are plenty of articles on the subject.I woke up the next day at 5:30AM with a solid 6 hours sleep. That happened about 3 times last year if that. My back has not felt this good in probably two years. I'm very excited to see what regular use will do if I achieved this in 10 hours which was really only 5 hours of FIR exposure, two hours of use before I went to bed and then 3 hours while sleeping before the battery wore down.There is much more to FIR than heat. It's very real. Year's ago we lived in a world where the atom and electron's and neutron's were just becoming understood. Today, the Higgs particles are being sought and dark energy is thought to comprise 70% of the universe. Perhaps all of these prescription medicines we are consuming aren't as necessary as thought. Afterall, immunotherapy where the body is stimulated to fight off diseases by itself is quickly becoming the common theme in medicine and health care.The first thing I did after this illuminating night was to put the belt back on. I really only slept with it for 3 hours given the battery life but that seemed to be fine and I'm not advocating anyone sleep with this product. I dd it because I felt I needed to and I really wanted to see if FIR had any immediate benefit. The second thing I did was look up other FIR products And, in case anyone wants to know, I'm 6'2 and 235 pounds and the belt fit just fine with plenty of overlap and the belt is comfortable. You just have to slide it to where the battery pack is on your hip so make sure the heat is directed on to your lower back. The product I am now looking at is a blanket. If FIR can do this for my lower back, then the health benefits of total body exposure have to be comparable. In other words, if my back felt this good from such a horrible level of pain, why wouldn't my other joints or even the claims about benefits to the immune and cardiovascular system not hold true if you had a blanket on. I haven't yet purchased one because I'm doing my homework. But, the benefit I received from only 5 hours of exposure to FIR on my lower back are hard to describe. This comes from a true sufferer of chronic pain, known degenerative condition and basically left with no other options.If you are in a similar situation with your back and you have $80, this would be a wise investment. Sixty dollars for the wrap and $20 for the extra battery which is essential. In fact, since these batteries take over 3-4 hours to totally recharge, I suggest you consider having 2 extra batteries fully charged. It wouldn't be a waste of $20 that's for sure. I can think of many other places I've wasted $20. However, one extra battery is almost essential for many people I would think. I would recommend this product to anyone even with such limited experience. It's comfortable, easy to use and about the most difficult thing to understand is to hold the 'on' button for three seconds until it lights up green, and then push it again to get to the higher temperature setting where it turns red. My battery pack lit up to 100% as soon as I attached it to the belt so I didn't have to turn it on, even though there is an on/off switch on the side of the battery. The last thing to mention is to make sure you buy a product that clearly indicates FIR (Far Infra-red) HEAT, not light. I can't imagine a wrap with light, but some may think a Far Infra-Red Light lamp might work just as well if directed on the lower back. It won't. All the literature is now focused on Far Infra-Red Heat. I'm not sure how high is acceptable, but the temperature on this belt is clearly an acceptable high level. I wouldn't go too much further and I'm not sure about the claims regarding 'sweating' and the benefits related to Far Infra-Red Heat, like saunas. I read quite a few clinical studies regarding the benefits of FIR for low back pain, but have yet to find any substantiating this 'sweating' level. If I buy a blanket, which is a substantially larger investment, it will be only for the reason to have greater total body exposure to FIR and not for the 'sweating' level which appears to be an interpretation by many as the main benefit. I'm not too sure about that and furthermore, these levels of temperatures that induce this 'sweating' may not be the safest for the body, especially if use is prolonged say for beyond 30 minutes.But hey, for all of you who were like me, and at your wit's end with the levels of pain, and too young to believe you have to live this way, I strongly recommend you make the $80 investment (wrap and extra battery). Also, I recommend you do some reading on the health benefits of FIR. Under Armour is now making numerous sports clothing that emit FIR for athletes and even Tom Brady is now wearing the FIR pajamas!

I ordered this heating pad in the last hours of 2022 to use up some use-it-or-lose it FSA funds, and it was delivered the next day.I have been wearing it quite a bit since I got it and I must say I love it so far. I have pain in my lower back and in the lower left side of my rib cage, the effects of undiagnosed scoliosis that has caused some arthritis, and some sports injuries and accidents. This has so far been the best product that I have had to provide relief to those areas. The fit is really secure, and I love not having to be tethered to a cord. I find the lower of the two settings is what is best for me, and is really warm and comfortable without being too hot. The battery pack is pretty flat and doesn't cause discomfort, even if you are sitting on a couch, bed or a chair. The battery life is pretty good, I think 3-4 hours on the low setting. I have an extra battery on order, as some other reviewers have recommended. It does take a few hours to recharge the battery. The item is well-made, and not bulky, actually quite thin. If you wear it under clothes this won't be very easy to notice. The velcro belt is really long, and much more than I need, even though I have a 38-40 inch waist. I hesitate to cut it in case I need the length in the future, so I just fold it over.If it isn't clear, I am happy with the item and would not hesitate to recommend it. The bottom line is it feels great. Even if you already have a great heating pad, the way this fits around your waist is amazing, and the cordless power is wonderful to have. I have not experimented much but it can also be used on other body areas and secured with the strap. It is very foldable, and can go around elbows, neck, knees, and shoulders, as needed.The only thing I must temper my review with is that I have only had it for a few days, and therefore I can't speak to the longevity of the product. If it does last a long time, this will be a real winner.

I got this particularly in case I needed it on an overseas flight. I also use it at home now. I love it. Some people have complained that it doesn't get hot enough to please them. The instruction pamphlet about it says that it doesn't have to get as hot as a regular heating pad to do the job because of the Infrared aspect. I have found that it eases my back muscle pain on the low setting. I find that I do have to reposition the battery pack sometimes a little to the left or right in order for comfort, but so far it has not been a big issue. I find the time to charge the battery to be slow. But, overall, I am very pleased with this product, and if I had to make the purchase decision again, I would buy it again. I've had it for about a month at the time of this review. A week or so later, I am editing my review: I have moved it from 5 stars to 4 stars. This is because it would be better if the battery could last longer and didn't take so long to recharge. I still am pleased with it and would buy it again, but these are 2 areas in which it could use improvement.