Wearable heating pad, heating belt or heat patch: which is best for cramps?

How each one works

All three warm your belly or back to ease cramping muscles. They differ in how much of you they cover, how long the heat lasts and what powers them.

A wearable heating pad is an electric pad shaped to wrap around you, held on with straps, so your hands stay free. Some are corded and plug into the wall, some run on a battery.

A heating belt is a band that buckles around your waist with a small heated panel, usually at the front. Many charge by USB and run on a battery, and some add a vibration setting.

A stick on heat patch is a single use pad that warms up when you open it. You stick it to your underwear or a thin top, and it gives off heat for several hours.

If your cramps reach your back and hips as well as your belly, the Riley wearable heating pad covers all three at once.

Side by side

• Coverage. Wearable pads cover the most, and the larger ones wrap belly, back and hips together. Many belts warm one panel at the front. A patch warms the spot you stick it on.
• How long the heat lasts. A corded pad keeps going for as long as it stays plugged in. A battery belt or pad runs until the charge runs down. A patch lasts several hours, then it is done.
• Moving around. Belts and patches go anywhere. A corded pad keeps you within reach of an outlet.
• Control. Electric pads and belts let you choose a heat setting. A patch gives one level of heat you can't change.
• Cost over time. Pads and belts cost more up front and you use them again and again. Patches are cheap each time but you keep buying them.

Which one suits your day

Pick a wearable heating pad if

Your cramps spread across your belly, lower back and hips, and you spend the worst days at home, on the sofa or at a desk. A pad that wraps around you means you don't have to choose which part gets the heat. One customer put it this way: "Usually I have to decide whether my uterus or my back gets relief with a heating pad but now I don't have to choose." Aly M.

Pick a heating belt if

You need to stay on your feet and your pain sits mostly at the front. A belt is easy to wear under clothes while you walk around, as long as you remember to charge it.

Pick heat patches if

You want something small for the commute, a meeting or a day out, or you only need heat now and then. Keep a couple in your bag for the days a cramp catches you away from home. If you work at a desk, our guide to using a heating pad for cramps at work covers setting one up.

Many people who get bad cramps use a mix: a wearable pad at home or at a desk, and a patch in their bag for everything else.

The Riley by REB Relief

I built the Riley after years of being tied to a wall outlet with a pad that kept slipping. We make it, so weigh our view with that in mind and read the reviews. It is a corded wearable heating pad that straps on and warms your lower belly, lower back and hips at once. It plugs into a US wall outlet, warms up in 3 seconds, has 10 heat settings and runs sessions of up to 2 hours.

• $119, and FSA and HSA eligible
• Rated 4.7 from 227 reviews
• 90 day guarantee, so you can try it through three full cycles
• Ships from our US warehouse

See the Riley

What to check before you buy

• Coverage. Does it reach where your pain actually sits, belly only or belly, back and hips?
• Power. Corded for steady heat at home, battery for moving around. Check how long a battery lasts on the setting you would use.
• Heat settings. Several settings let you start low and build up.
• Fit. Straps or a belt should hold it in place without digging in. Check the size range.
• Guarantee. Look for a return period long enough to try it through a full cycle.
• FSA and HSA. Some pads for period pain are eligible, which can help with the cost.

Using heat safely

• Start on the lowest setting and build up slowly.
• Follow the maker's instructions for how long to use it, and take breaks.
• Check your skin between sessions. If it looks red or feels sore, stop.
• Keep heat off broken or irritated skin, and follow the pack on where a patch can go.
• Never sleep with an electric pad or belt switched on.
• Ask your doctor first if you are pregnant, have reduced feeling in your skin, or have an implanted medical device.

When heat is not enough

Heat can make a bad day easier. It does not treat the cause of your pain. If cramps stop you working or sleeping, or are getting worse, see your doctor. Pain with heavy bleeding, pain during sex, or pain that lasts beyond your period can point to endometriosis or another condition worth checking. Our guide on heating pads for endometriosis pain has more.

Sudden severe pain, or pain with a fever, needs urgent medical care.