Hydrotherapy – Use of Water in Healing Ailments

Hydrotherapy is a general term for a group of alternative treatments that use water for the relief of various diseases or injuries, or for cleansing the digestive tract. The use of hydrotherapy has a long history as a form of medical treatment. For example, in classical times the Romans and Greeks found sources of water that were considered to have healing properties. This therapy is used to treat a wide range of conditions, often in conjunction with conventional medical treatment.

External Hydrotherapy

Proponents of this alternative form of pain and tension relief claim that when you are either feeling pain or under undue stress, your blood pressure will rise and your pulse rate race and the proponents of external hydrotherapy claim that within the first five minutes of treatment your blood pressure will drop and you will feel calmer. Further exposure will increase circulation and make your muscles feel less tense; they also claim to improve your immune system.

Internal Hydrotherapy

Also known as colonic hydrotherapy or colonic irrigation often used to treat specific gut problems such as constipation, excessive flatulence, IBS, bloating and headaches. This form of hydrotherapy uses purified disinfected water, which often has been treated with cleansing minerals, and special tubing. The water is gently led into the colon and then allowed out, clearing out waste matter, faecal remains, gas, mucous and other accumulated debris which has built up inside the colon itself

The Healing Miracle of Water

Water has a number of distinctive properties that make it one of the most useful substances in healing as it washes wastes and impurities from the body. The cleansing action of water is enhanced by its surface tension, which further enables it to penetrate, grab onto, and draw out toxins and impurities.

Water, being the most receptive element and the greatest receiver of energy, also has a number of distinctive thermodynamic properties. Hot water stores a tremendous amount of caloric energy, which it powerfully transfers to the bodies, conversely cold water is a powerful coolant, refrigerant and absorber of excess heat, inflammation and fever. Water’s powerfully influences on the heat distribution patterns of the body and profoundly affect circulation pattern, so impact of water on the body and its functions is powerful and direct.

Water Temperature and Therapeutics

Water has different therapeutic effects at different temperatures.

Hot water is initially stimulating, raising the body temperature slightly, very relaxing and dispersing, especially to the muscles, joints and blood vessels, open the pores, induces sweating, penetrate the skin and ripen latent boils.

Warm water is gently relaxing and stimulating to the appetite and digestion, stimulates the activity of the digestive organs if done about an hour before eating.

Cool water is good for soothing heat and inflammation, and for cooling the body on hot summer days. A sponge bath with cool water is good for bringing down fevers.

Cold water acts as a bracing, stimulating tonic. It consolidates and shunts blood circulation inwards towards the core and internal organs, reduces swelling and inflammation and constricts the blood vessels.

Alternating Hot / Cold water applications, usually in the form of partial baths or compresses, are a particularly powerful technique. The hot water draws old, stagnant blood out of the internal organs and the cold water drives fresh blood back into the internal organs and the body’s core. With alternating hot / cold applications the circulation is powerfully increased, and the affected area begins to throb and pulsate. This is a sign of healing and regeneration.

There are some types of baths and applications:

Sitz bath: A sitz bath is administered in a tub that allows the hips to be immersed in water, often used in the management of back pain, sore muscles / muscle spasm, body aches, sprains, hemorrhoids, pruritis, inflammation, rashes, anxiety, for wound care / hygiene, and to promote relaxation.

Arm bath: For a cold arm bath, the arm is placed in a basin of cold water with the water level reaching just above the elbow.

Foot bath: Cold foot baths involve placing the feet in a bath filled calf-deep with cold water. For warm / rising temperature foot baths, the feet are immersed in water at body temperature. Hot water is gradually added until the temperature reaches approximately 103-104 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes.

Rising temperature hip bath: These baths are administered in tubs initially filled with shallow tepid water. Hot water is gradually added until levels reach the navel. A common temperature is 103-104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Steam bath / sauna: Heat may be used to cause sweating, and these techniques are variably included in the definition of hydrotherapy. People should not spent more than 15-20 minutes in a steam bath or sauna, and individuals with medical conditions such as heart or lung disease should avoid prolonged heat exposure.

Wraps: Hot or cold wet wraps may be used around various parts of the body. This technique is sometimes used with the intension to reduce fever or foster relaxation. Hot fomentation involves the application of warm liquid or moist heat with towels to the surface of the body.

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