Review on Gaiam Relax Neck Shoulder Wrap by Tiffany Staley

I have chronic back pain/arthritis and every night as I sit on the couch I put hot compresses on my lower back to warm up in the microwave. While the Gaiam Relax Lower Back Brace is very good, I have another favorite right now. (My heating pad - heat therapy pack - natural heat therapy - stress relief (blue) 1) Function. What I like most about this hot bag is its thickness, aided by channels sewn into the fabric, but there is a downside. That. While that hot pack doesn't get tangled behind your back, I've always preferred packs that allow the rice to flow freely. The reason is that these types of heat packs don't always heat up evenly in the microwave - when this happens with the loose type you can just splash them around a bit to even out the temperature, while you can't with the channel type. The beauty of Gaiam is that it has a thicker fleece side and a thinner fabric side. If you want it a little warmer, use the thinner fabric side, cooler the thicker fleece side. I can do without a belt. You really need to secure it so it doesn't slip when you're trying to walk around the house. It barely fits in our microwave and the turntable gets stuck so it can't heat up as evenly as I'd like. I would be careful not to fold it over myself when heating. I've had many warm packs and actually burned a few by stacking them. 2) smell. If you have any doubts about the smell, don't buy it, I almost guarantee you won't like it. As soon as I unpacked it, the scent hit me. My wife also mentioned that she didn't like the smell after I put it in the microwave. If you feel you need a scent, you can always buy a bottle of essential oil and add a few drops to the packet yourself. That way you can control the crowd and it will likely dissipate over time if you decide you don't like it. 3) Quality I've only been using it for a few days so I can't say how long it will last. The fabric side of the thermal pack is thin enough that you can see the rice inside, while the fleece feels a bit more durable. Use it and try to find a pack that's about the same size, whether you want it flavored or not, and whether you want it with channels or not.