An Overview Of Hydrotherapy and Its Health Benefits
What is Hydrotherapy?
Definition of Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy is the medicinal use of water for positive health benefits. These health benefits come from the mechanical and thermal effects of water interacting with the body. It includes the use of physical water properties, specifically temperature and pressure, and sometimes the delivery of minerals or herbal treatments to manipulate the body’s flow of blood, the endocrine system and associated neural systems in order to treat the symptoms of certain diseases. The term “Hydrotherapy” is derived from the Greek words “Hydro” meaning water, and “Therapia” meaning healing.
History of Hydrotherapy
The oldest recorded use of Hydrotherapy can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where royalty bathed in large, warm pools of water mixed with oils and flowers. Whether or not people embarked upon this activity to enjoy health benefits or merely as an indulgent luxury is not certain, but given the advanced nature of the culture at the time, many believe that the Egyptians understood the inherent medicinal value of water as a healing agent. Other experts believe that Hydrotherapy got its start even earlier in Asia. In India, Japan and China, natural hot springs rich in minerals were often used to cleanse the body and soul of its impurities, and how far back that practice reached is hard to estimate.
During the reign of the Greek empire, minerals were added to warm baths to help alleviate symptoms of common maladies and sickness. The Romans borrowed from these practices and expanded upon them, becoming famous for the large communal bathhouses they built for the enjoyment and health of their citizens.
After the fall of Rome and during the Middle Ages, the practice of Hydrotherapy seemed to disappear, but it was “rediscovered” and popularized in Europe during the Victorian Era, particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The father of modern Hydrotherapy is believed by many to be Vincent Priessnitz, an Austrian farmer born in the 1700’s who prescribed combinations of “water, food & air” in place of traditional medicine as cures for common ailments. Word of his treatments and their successes traveled quickly, and because they were cheap and easy to do at home, they became very popular in Europe during his lifetime. Later, A Bavarian Priest named Sebastian Kneipp furthered Priessnitz’s work and developed systematic and controlled applications of Hydrotherapy for support and in combination with medicinal treatments delivered by doctors. It was the first time in modern history where Hydrotherapy was used as a medicinal treatment and administered by health professionals.
Most early forms of Hydrotherapy in Europe involved the use of cold water, particularly in the treatment of diseases that led to high fevers, as cold water was instrumental in bringing about relief from otherwise harmful high body temperatures. But there were some hot treatments that become popular at the time, as well. Borrowed from “Turkish Baths”, hot Hydrotherapy treatment was introduced by David Urquhart into England after he returned from a trip to the East where he had enjoyed the beneficial therapeutic effects of hot mineral baths.
Hydrotherapy came to the United States from Europe in the mid-19th century. The first medicinal Hydrotherapy clinic was thought to have opened in 1844 in New York City and later moved to Massachusetts. It wasn’t long before similar operations opened in other cities, as the use of Hydrotherapy and specifically hot and cold baths became a vogue practice, particularly among the wealthy elite.
Hydrotherapy spawned a tourism trade, where different locations became renowned for their adeptness at curing different ailments. People would travel to different locations seeking cures for various maladies, and would also travel to different locations depending on the time of the year. For example, many English citizens would travel to locations with hot springs in the winter, and to locations with cold springs in the summer.
In the 1940’s, the use of “whirlpools” – or whirling water movement produced by jets of water powered by mechanical pumps – was introduced and Hydrotherapy took a giant leap forward. With the addition of pressure and water movement, the health benefits of Hydrotherapy were increased and concurrently, the medical community scientifically documented some of the positive changes Hydrotherapy initiates in our bodies.
Now popularly known as “spas”, “whirlpools” and by the brand name “Jacuzzis”, the installation of Hydrotherapy-enabled bathtubs are a popular choice among consumers who want to enjoy the many health benefits of Hydrotherapy on a daily basis.
The Physical Effects Of Hydrotherapy On The Body
Hydrotherapy uses water to deliver temperature and pressure changes to the body. These changes are sensed by the body via nerve endings in the skin and muscle, and result in neural “reflex effects” that are controlled by the brain and spinal chord. The most important of these reflex effects are vasodilatation and vasoconstriction, which are the terms used to describe the relaxation and tensing of the blood vessels in the body. These physical changes in the blood vessels cause changes in the rate of blood flow and in the metabolic functions that are linked to the rate of blood flow.
Which changes happen in the body are dependent on the outside stimuli it receives; whether the water is hot or cold, the motion of the pressure, and the strength of the pressure, too.
