Hydrotherapy is the generic term for water therapies using underwater massage, water jets, mineral baths, bubbles and floatation to leave ...
However, you could have hydrotherapy in any water or pool as it has a lot to do with movement. Doctors often prescribe a course of hydrotherapy as part of a treatment program. It is also used by athletes to improve and maintain their general health and fitness, and by others as part of a healthy whole-body routine.
Just spending time massaging your aching shoulders under a swan pipe or letting the magic bubbles of a Jacuzzi loosen your muscles can leave you more relaxed and less tense.
What is hydrotherapy good for?
Being immersed, buoyant or massaged in water can relieve our bodies in a variety of different ways, and hydrotherapy can help with many physical and emotional complaints, including:
* back pain
* rheumatic pain and arthritis
* anxiety and stress
* poor muscle and skin tone
* poor circulation
* muscle pain and inflammation
* headaches
* hip or other joint replacements (before and after the operations)
* muscle or ligament injuries; broken limbs
* neurological conditions such as strokes or brain injuries
Various Types of Hydrotherapy
In the various methods of hydrotherapy, the body is either immersed in water, fully or partially, such as a hot tub or a footbath, or the water being applied directly on the affected area, such as a warm compress or ice pack. Given below are some of common methods of hydrotherapy that are used:
Full Immersion Bath: In this, the person is immersed in water, which is heated up 90-95 degrees F, up to his/her shoulders, for about 20 minutes. The water can be plain or contain aromatherapy oils, herbs, Dead Sea salts, Epsom salts, or even special kinds of mud.
Sitzbath: Also known as a ‘hip bath’, in this the person sits in a bathtub, immersed in water up to the hips. The sitzbath can either be cold, or alternate between hot and cold. This method of hydrotherapy is particularly effective for ailments that affect the abdomen as well as the reproductive system, intestinal and kidney pains, menstrual disorders, hemorrhoids, abdominal cramps, congestion in the pelvic region, and inflammations.
Hydro-Massage: In this, jets of water that can either be powerful or gentle, which are positioned at various heights, are directed to various parts of the body. It has a wonderfully relaxing massaging effect.
Wraps: The person being treated lies down, enveloped in cold wet sheets, which are then covered with dry blankets or towels. These are removed within an hour or so, with a bath being administered. This method of hydrotherapy is used for alleviating muscle pain, disorders of the skin, bronchitis, and colds.
Compresses: The individual is wrapped in towels or sheets that are soaked in cold or hot water, or a combination of both in an alternating way. Cold water has a stimulating effecting, causing the blood vessels near the skin to constrict, thus diverting the blood to inner areas. A hot water compress, on the other hand, results in the dilation of blood vessels, which improves the circulation, and also helps in removing toxins from the tissues and body. It is also helpful in reliving local inflammations as well as fevers.
Footbath: In this, the feet are immersed up to the ankles in a small vessel containing. It can be a cold footbath, or a hot one, or an alternation between the two. A cold footbath is great for relieving tired feet, while a hot footbath (which should be tolerably hot) is wonderful for relieving aching feet or if the feet are cold. As for the alternating type, it improves blood circulation in the area, and alleviates varicose veins, besides being relaxing.
There are also internal methods of hydrotherapy, which involves drinking a certain amount of water in a day, and also colon therapy, wherein fluid is introduced into the colon, and then emptied out.
Has Hydrotherapy Been Proven to Work?
Numerous studies have proven the effectiveness of hydrotherapy. In 2008, the Australian Institute of Sport studied the effect of hydrotherapy on muscle soreness. They concluded that cold water immersion and contrast water therapy, which involves the use of cold and hot water, were both effective in improving muscle soreness due to exercise. In 2009, a study held at the University of Duisburg-Essen, by the Department of Internal Medicine V, tested the effectiveness of hydrotherapy as a treatment for fibromyalgia. The study concluded that hydrotherapy was moderately effective in helping fibromyalgia patients control pain. These studies may just prove what ancient healers once believed to be true: that hydrotherapy is an effective way to treat many different medical conditions.
If you are interested in any Hydrotherapy school, just search through this website.
Here are some Hydrotherapy Pictures
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