What Is Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy, as the name suggests, is a therapy that uses water to treat physical conditions and relieve aches through thermal indulgences, like hot baths, wraps, saunas, packs, douches and more. Also known as water treatment, it is not a recent medical breakthrough though. It has been around for centuries now, and was extensively used in the past by Greeks, Japanese, Chinese, Egyptians and Romans, to cure various ailments. Today, hydrotherapy is being used to treat various musculoskeletal disorders i.e. disorders relating to muscles, tendons and joints as well as paralysis, stroke, spasticity, and burns. When the body is in pain or under stress, its pulse rate and blood pressure usually rise up. Hydrotherapy helps relax the body in such a case, by boosting the production of endorphins in brain, which are known to have analgesic properties and even help increase the oxygen flow in blood. In hydrotherapy, either the body is immersed in water, partially or fully, or the affected area is treated with water as a warm compress or ice pack. Hydrotherapy entails different types of water treatments, like full immersion bath, sitzbath, wraps, compresses, footbath and even internal procedures like colon therapy. The therapy is best for treating ailments like rheumatism, arthritis, sciatica, back pain, aching and swollen joints, insomnia, fatigue, stress, poor circulation and muscular pain. Let us explore its benefits in detail.