Back & Neck Pain Treatment Moist Heat Physical Therapy Modality By Anne Asher, CPT Anne Asher, CPT Verywell Health's Facebook Verywell Health's LinkedIn Anne Asher, ACE-certified personal trainer, health coach, and orthopedic exercise specialist, is a back and neck pain expert. Learn about our editorial process Updated on November 01, 2021 Medically reviewed by Mohamad Hassan, PT Medically reviewed by Mohamad Hassan, PT Verywell Health's LinkedIn Mohamad Hassan, PT, DPT, diagnoses neuromuscular and orthopedic conditions, including sprains, strains, and post-operation fractures and tears. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Verywell Health's LinkedIn Nick Blackmer is a librarian, fact-checker, and researcher with more than 20 years’ experience in consumer-oriented health and wellness content. Learn about our editorial process Print Moist heat—also called superficial heat—is a physical therapy modality used to control pain, speed healing, relax muscles, and increase range of motion. In a moist heat treatment, a hot pack is placed on the tight or painful area and left there for about 10 or 15 minutes. Other physical therapy treatments include ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and iontophoresis. imagepointfr / Deposit Photos Feels Good and Does Good With the exception of certain types of massage, moist heat treatment is perhaps the most relaxing of all the physical therapy modalities. It's often used at the beginning of a physical therapy session to loosen your muscles and get them ready for exercise. About Moist Heat Packs Moist heat packs used in physical therapy clinics are made of bentonite covered in canvas. The packs are stored in very hot (158 to 167 degrees F) water. When the moist heat packs are prepared for use, they are placed in towels and/or special wraps. This not only helps to prevent burns, but it also slows down cooling, giving you more time to enjoy and benefit from the treatment. And of course, it's more sanitary. How Moist Heat Controls Pain Moist heat may help control your pain by blocking pain signals from being transmitted. Application of heat may also help reduce pain by relaxing muscle spasm and enhancing healing (see below for more about that). Although opinions on this differ, many experts recommend that moist heat be used only for chronic or sub-acute back or neck pain. The thinking is if you put a hot pack on an acute injury, you risk increased swelling or bleeding which may aggravate the area and cause more pain. How It Speeds Healing Put a hot pack on an injured or tight area of your back, and you'll likely increase circulation. Increased circulation speeds the delivery of blood, and therefore oxygen and nutrients. It also accelerates the removal of waste products. Another way moist heat helps the healing process is by increasing enzyme activity. This raises your metabolic rate and helps release oxygen from the hemoglobin molecule into your tissues, where it helps with repair. Flexibility Moist heat relaxes muscles and other soft tissue. In fact, your therapist may guide you in using stretching as an adjunct. Stretching during or after this treatment may result in longer-lasting improvements in flexibility and joint range of motion. 2 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Therapeutic modalities. Lohman III EB, Sackiriyas KSB, Bains GS, et al. A comparison of whole body vibration and moist heat on lower extremity skin temperature and skin blood flow in healthy older individuals. Med Sci Monit. 2012;18(7):CR415-CR424. doi:10.12659/MSM.883209 By Anne Asher, CPT Anne Asher, ACE-certified personal trainer, health coach, and orthopedic exercise specialist, is a back and neck pain expert. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit