Water is truly the elixir of life, powering our bodies and replenishing our cells every hour of the day. In addition to strengthening our bodies from within, water can also strengthen our bodies from the outside. Hydrotherapy revolves around utilizing water for various health benefits and has been used throughout history to treat various ailments.
Let’s dive into the details!
What Exactly Is Hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy is known by several names, including water therapy or aquatic therapy. This type of therapy uses water to assist the patient in various ways, depending on the desired outcome. This exercise can be done for relaxation, strength training, physical rehabilitation, or mental and physical therapy. They are usually supervised by a water therapist who guides the patient through the movements and exercises.
How Does Hydrotherapy Help Patients?
Depending on the patient’s goals, hydrotherapy can help patients achieve their short-term and long-term goals.
If you’ve ever floated in a pool or ocean, you understand the feeling of weightlessness and the buoyancy that water provides. It is this characteristic of water that makes hydrotherapy invaluable for patients with weight limits that their bodies can support. People who have recently had surgery that should minimize the pressure they put on joints, such as the knee or hip, or even people who are trying to lose weight without high-impact walking or running, can benefit greatly from hydrotherapy.
Running on land versus running through even a foot of water makes a big difference in how you propel yourself forward. If you’ve ever tried to walk in the shallow end of a pool, you can understand the drag the water puts on it. Water provides a steady level of resistance for patients who are unable to lift weights but need some type of strength training to promote muscle growth. Create your own water exercise or find one online that works for you.
Regardless of whether patients are using hydrotherapy for physical ailments or for mental health, patients can work to reduce anxiety levels through exercise as well as relaxation practices. Many patients find the water soothing.
Who Assists Hydrotherapy?
The beauty of hydrotherapy is that it can be used on a variety of patients for a variety of reasons. There are two basic types of hydrotherapy: active and passive. Hydrotherapy like Water aerobics has been shown to reduce stress, increase stamina and develop muscle mass – these activities will be considered as active hydrotherapy. Passive hydrotherapy is a hot bath with a warm jet to help relieve the chronic pain of someone with fibromyalgia.
Whether you are very active in sports or just taking swimming lessons for fun, hydrotherapy covers a wide range of water activities. Here is a short list of some of the other ailments hydrotherapy can help with:
- postpartum depression
- nervous disorder
- chronic pain
- load bearing restrictions
- postoperative therapy
- exercise therapy
- stress reduction
- weight loss
What Types of Hydrotherapy?
Hydrotherapy flexibility making it one of the best forms of therapy available to patients regardless of whether they are elderly people working to recover from surgery or a well-known athlete looking to build stamina.
Just as changes in water pressure can affect a person, immersing a patient in hot or cold water has different effects depending on the symptoms. Patients undergoing warm or hot hydrotherapy sessions will find their muscles relaxed and their blood vessels dilated to account for the rise in their body temperature. Hot water also creates steam, which can help expand the lungs and make breathing easier for someone who is congested. Hot water therapy can also:
- Reducing pain from arthritis or joint pain
- Improve sleep
- Cure muscle strains and sprains
- Elimination of toxins from the body
- Increases endorphins to improve mood and help the healing process
Cold water therapy constricts blood vessels, which reduces blood flow throughout the body. Because cold water shocks the system, patients will feel much more alert and awake than warm hydrotherapy. Cold hydrotherapy can also numb areas of the body and reduce inflammation to prevent pain. Cold water therapy can also:
- Reduces the visibility of varicose veins
- Relieve symptoms of depression
- Treat migraines and headaches
- Reducing swelling in areas of the body
- Refresh the senses
For hydrotherapy to work, the patient does not have to be submerged or immersed in water. Sitting in a sauna or steam room can be considered a form of hydrotherapy. For homeopathic treatment, herbs and essential oils can be added to the water for inhalation, which can help with allergies, sickness-related congestion, and stress reduction. When combined with other ingredients, the herbs and oils make a paste that can be applied to certain areas of the body to relieve joint or muscle pain if the patient is in pain.
There are several methods of hydrotherapy, some of which are so simple that you can even do them at home. Drawing a warm bath with rose petals and aromatherapy beads is a form of hydrotherapy that is easy to do at home without seeing a specialist. You can also try yourself hot and cold bath therapy right in the comfort of your own home. This simple daily ritual can relieve stress to promote a good night’s sleep or wake you up and get you ready to make the most of the day ahead.
Before you explore any hydrotherapy options, talk to your doctor to find out what’s right for you. Your doctor may be able to refer you to a hydrotherapy specialist.
