Beating Pain in Paradise—With Giveaway!

Push-ups, Zumba, snorkeling and dancing…all in one day.

The following post is sponsored by ThermaCare. For our sponsored post policy, click here.

I had planned on going to backpacking in the Tetons for vacation this year, but as luck would have it, I got an amazing offer to hang out on the beaches of Jamaica instead. While I’ll detail more about my trip on my blog on Monday, today I want to talk to you about something specific. It’s called: Do All the Things and Pay the Price Syndrome (DATPPS).

When I go backpacking, I expect to have some pain. But a beach vacation? Well, that seems less intense, right? Not if you have DATPPS. Which I do, for in my beachy bliss—and in between sipping piña coladas and noshing on jerk chicken—I suffered from it. Being out in the fresh Jamaican air and surrounded by so much beauty just energized me. So instead of lounging on the beach, I got up and got to business. One of my final days there, I did a bunch of push-ups and lunges, shook my groove thing at Zumba, went snorkeling and then danced my rear off at the disco. It was awesome. But the next day, boy, oh, boy, was I feeling it. Feeling it like whoa, mon.

Seeing that I didn’t want to endure a 14-hour day of travel with back pain and soreness, I busted out my handy dandy ThermaCare Lower Back & Hip HeatWrap, which I had indeed packed with me just in case (I’m a believer in these!). Not only did it make flying and sitting for hours upon hours more bearable, but it also kept me warm. (What is it with planes being like 60 degrees at altitude?!) And the wrap gives muscle-loosening goodness for up to 16 hours, so I had relief from the time I left the Jamaican resort until the time I pulled up in our driveway. Now that’s impressive.

How to Win Some Pain Relief

I’m so, so happy I brought these on my trip with me. ThermaCare Lower Back & Hip HeatWraps really do help to keep you active and doing all of the activities that you love, whether you’re traveling or not. And we want to share the love! ThermaCare is giving one lucky U.S. reader a ThermaCare Gift Pack with 16 ThermaCare Lower Back & Hip HeatWraps in it, so that no matter where your activities take you, you’re pain-free.

If you’re game to win it, all you have to do is comment with your favorite place to vacation and whether or not you also suffer from DATPPS. Although it’s not required, we also encourage you to check out ThermaCare’s Rally for Relief campaign on Facebook here. Not only can you make a cute and funny avatar of yourself doing the activities you love (check out mine here), but also you can win some amazing prizes like $16,000 or a biking trip in wine country. Hmmm…maybe I’ll put that on my vacy to-do-next list…

Hooray for being pain-free! —Jenn