Hydrotherapy

From ArticleWorld

Hydrotherapy, a type of alternative medical therapy, has its roots in many Ancient Civilizations, including the Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans. These ancients primarily used bathes of varying temperatures, some containing essential oils or perfumes, in order to cure illnesses. Some form of hydrotherapy has existed since that time.

Origins

The use of hydrotherapy or “hydrology” as a medical therapeutic tool was formally developed by Vincent Priessnitz, an Austrian farmer, in the early 1800s. His use of water therapy attracted scores of the infirm as well as many men of science looking for ways to use this type of therapy in their own practices. Records of numerous positive experiences with hydrotherapy were published based on Priesnitz’s work. Other facilities in Germany, in the US and in France were established, based on the principles Priessnitz had developed.

Hydrotherapy Methods

Hydrotherapy has a number of uses in both conventional and alternative practices today. Individuals with joint pain, severe burns and muscle disorders find benefit from water-based hydrotherapeutic techniques. Patients with strokes or other types of paralysis notice that warm water baths loosen the spasticity of their muscles and joints. One unique use of hydrotherapy involves partially immersing pregnant women with fetuses suffering from placental insufficiency. The water reduces the pressure on the blood vessels supplying the placenta, thus maximizing the delivery of nutrients to the fetus.

Types of Hydrotherapy

There are several kinds of hydrotherapy used to treat patients for various conditions:

• General baths consist of everything from showers to near complete immersion in water. Generally, this involves combinations of hot and cold water which together provide cleansing, soothing therapy followed by stimulation of body tissues.
• Local baths or Sitz Baths involve immersing only a part of the body such as the feet or the female perineum following childbirth. These baths improve circulation to the affected area, reduce local inflammation and provide soothing warmth to the injured body part.
• Water packs consist of applying a localized moist hot or cold pack or of enveloping the entire body in wet sheets. The body pack has sedative effects and stimulates the removal, via sweating, of debris and toxins from the body through the skin.
• Steam baths or hot-air baths are common in health clubs and are used as hydrotherapy as well. This kind of therapy promotes sweating and allows toxins to pass through the skin.
• Other kinds of hydrotherapy involve the use of medicated poultices to treat congestion of the sinuses as well as the use of “wet-to-dry” dressings in the treatment of deep wounds or burns. Local application of cold, wet packs is often used for the reduction of fever.

Hydrotherapy involves a wide variety of water-based therapies with valid applications in the treatment of patients in both conventional and alternative medical settings.