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Hydrotherapy

What is Hydrotherapy:

Hydrotherapy or "water therapy" is the treatment of disease through the use of water. Hydrothermal therapy is the use of water temperature, such as in hot tubs or spas. The focus of hydrotherapy is to rid the body of toxins that may be causing joint pain and inflammation. Hydro therapy treatments are also helpful in managing chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteo arthritis.

Brief History of Hydrotherapy:

The benefits of hydro therapy have been recognized for thousands of years (see The History of Hot Tubs). Hydrotherapy is especially popular in Europe where there are numerous health spas and health facilities for all types of "water cures".

Many European spas were built in majestic surroundings with panoramic views of lakes and mountains in the 18th and 19th centuries. These retreats were staffed by medical practitioners who prescribed and monitored the treatments. European techniques and spa treatments have evolved over centuries achieving a high level of sophistication.

For treating many common ailments, water healing is one of the oldest, safest and cheapest methods. From personal experience we know water makes us feel better and is not just for cleansing. After a strenuous day, you know you'll feel much better after soaking in a hot tub of water. The hot water relieves fatigue and prevents stiffness.

How Does Hydrotherapy Work?

The healing and recuperative properties of hydro therapy are due to it's thermal and mechanical effects. It employs the body's reaction to hot and cold stimuli. From the skin the nerves carry impulses deeper into the body. This is instrumental in lessening pain sensitivity, invigorating blood flow and circulation, increasing the production of stress hormones and stimulating the immune system.

Hydrotherapy's more conventional uses are the treatment of muscle weakness, balance disorders, diabetes and other diseases that impair circulation, cramps, premenstrual syndrome, arthritis, back pain, musculo-skeletal injuries and soft tissue injuries.

In a two week pilot study, fourteen patients with ankylosing spondylitus (AS) were treated using hot water mineral baths. A significant improvement was found in finger to floor distance, morning stiffness and over all well-being was noted in the patients by physicians. A significant reduction in the use of analgesics was also noted. These improvements began after one week of treatment and was still present after three months.

Heat has the tendency to quiet and soothe the body while slowing down the activity of internal organs. A soak in a hot tub will help when experiencing tense muscles and anxiety from stress. One experiences weightlessness when being submerged in water. the body is given a break from the constant pull of gravity. Water in motion stimulates touch receptors on the skin releasing tight muscles and boosting blood circulation. The water knead the body providing a massage like feeling.

Using Hydrotherapy for the Lower Back

Lower back pain is the number 2 reason in the U.S. that people visit the doctor after colds and the flu. Millions of people suffer needlessly from lower back pain.

A study published in the British Journal of Rheumatology provided evidence that hot tub therapy has short and long term benefits for people with lower back pain in 1995.

In a study of 40 persons at the University of Minnesota, 85% of the participants chose a whirlpool bath over a still bath. Both were effective in reducing anxiety, but only the whirlpool bath was effective at at reducing the participant's reactivity to stress.

Researchers in France published a study later in the Journal of Rheumatology to confirm these results. Examinations showed improvement in health status (measured in back flexibility and pain duration and intensity) of the spa treatment group than in the medication-only group after three weeks of consistent spa therapy. The use of anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics also decreased in the spa treatment group. This research information was published in the March-April 1996 issue of Arthritis Today.

Hydro therapy use in the back is useful for diseases of the lungs, bronchial asthma, multiple sclerosis, spinal disease, back pain and weakened back muscles. it should not be used on debilitated patients or those with neurasthenia.

Treating Arthritis with Hydrotherapy

The joints have the tendency to swell and stiffen with heavy to moderate exertion as we get older. One in six Americans have some form of arthritis.

The use of heat is recommended for many people suffering from arthritis and hydro therapy is a great way to distribute and deliver heat to many parts of the body. The buoyancy of water reduces body weight by approximately 85-90% and is what provides the relaxing feeling of weightlessness. Many doctors advise people with sore joints to soak in warm water in the morning before starting their daily activities.

Osteo arthritis patients usually get better results with moist, warm treatments as opposed to dry applications, like electric heating pads. Exercising, wading or swimming in a pool heated to 85 degrees Fahrenheit is also very effective when the affected part of the body is immersed in the water.

Alternating cold and hot baths are good for treating hands and feet. The alternating hot and cold stimulates circulation by causing blood vessels to dilate, which is beneficial for arthritic joints and aching feet. The application of heat eases muscle tension, is soothing and relieves pain.

Hydrotherapy Treatment for Insomnia

Are you not getting a good night of sleep anymore? There are over 132 million people in the United States that suffer from some type of sleep disorder according to the National Sleep Foundation. Losing sleep tends to make us feel bad, short tempered and depressed.

In July of 1998, Pool and Spa Magazine reported that hot water bathing to induce sleep in 1,000 adults surveyed in a recent Gallup poll. A Consumer Reports survey found that people with mild sleep disorders listed a warm bath as one of the most popular remedies.

Anything that helps to drive blood back to external areas and away from the head will help with sleeplessness. Insomnia is often caused by too much blood in the brain. Hot foot baths draw blood away from the head, making sleep easier.

A drop in body temperature can help ease your body into a deeper sleep according to a recent study. Soaking in a hot tub at 104 degrees Fahrenheit an hour or two before bedtime will cause the body's internal thermostat to pull the body temperature down, enabling deeper sleep. Soaking too close to bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep because of elevated body temperature which is why it is suggested to soak an hour or two before sleep time.

Rosalind Cartright, the director of Sleep Disorders Service and Research Center suggested that soaking in a hot tub could reset the body thermostat, so people would wake up more rested.

Soaking in a hot tub is a great way to repair ravaged nerves while giving one a better night of sleep. A leisurely soak in a hot tub holds much promise for a good night's sleep and is a good substitute on days when you can't exercise.

Hydrotherapy Benefits for Diabetes

The New England Journal of Medicine suggested that the benefits of exercise and the use of hydro therapy from the use of spas had positive affects on diabetes in the September 16, 1999 issue.

Patients with Type 2 Diabetes soaked in a spa or hot tub for 30 minutes a day for six days a week in the study. Some of the results were positive in which patients lost weight, showed distinct decreases in plasma glucose levels and required reduced doses of insulin.

Further benefits were reported for patients that were unable to exercise in the study. The patients benefited from increased blood flow to skeletal muscles.

Always consult with your physician about a physical therapy regimen when considering hydrotherapy for diabetes.

Treating the Rest of the Body with Hydrotherapy

Using hydro therapy for the face is useful for relieving trigeminal neuralgia, tooth aches, headaches and migraines and relaxing tired eyes.

Treating the neck is useful for vertigo, arthrosis of finger and hand joints, tinnitus, mild depression, hyper sensitivity to weather changes, tenseness in shoulder and neck, headaches and migraines. This treatment should not be used by those suffering from raised intra-ocular pressure, enlargement of the thyroid or high blood pressure.

Hydrotherapy for the chest is useful for angina pectoris, bronchial asthma and bronchitis. Water temperature should be moderated if there is angiospasm risk. Water therapy for the upper trunk (upper torso and arms) is useful for improving blood flow to the heart, lungs and pleura. It is useful for stimulating respiratory and cardiac activity, toning up, varicose veins, nervous excitability, headaches, disease of larynx and vocal cords, bronchial asthma and bronchitis. This method of hydrotherapy should not be used if there is blood stasis in the pulmonary circulation.

Using hydro therapy on the arms is useful for cold hands, catarrh in the nose and throat, headaches, vertigo, heart problems, rheumatism of the arms, neuralgia, paralysis and nervous disorders.

Treating the hips with hydrotherapy is useful ailments affecting the abdomen, reproductive system, inflammations, pelvic congestion, cramps, hemorrhoids, kidney pain and intestinal pain. It is also useful for enlargement of the gall bladder and stone formation, enlargement of the liver, meteorism and diabetes mellitus. It should not be used for sciatia, irritable bladder, urinary tract infections or during menstruation.

Hydrotherapy for the thighs can help improve poor circulation and stimulate blood flow. It is useful in the treatment of coxarthritis, crural paralysis, muscular rheumatism and varicose veins. Water therapy for the thighs should also not be used for sciatia, irritable bladder, urinary tract infections or during menstruation.

Treating the feet and legs with hydro therapy is useful for headaches and migraines, varicose veins, contusions, sleeplessness and low blood pressure. This type of water therapy can help ward off vascular damage and influence the digestive and reproductive organs. Like the hips and thighs, hydrotherapy for the feet and legs should not be used for sciatia, irritable bladder, urinary tract infections or during menstruation.

Hydrotherapy Risks

People with impaired temperature sensation run the risk of scalding or frostbite at temperature extremes.

Elderly people and young children may be prone to exhaustion by too much heat and should avoid long full body hot treatments.

Consult a physician to determine whether a physical therapy is suitable for your case when a condition is persistent or recurrent. Also consult your doctor if you are pregnant or have a heart disease.

By R. Wilkerson