Therapies... - Hydrotherapy - Brief Description

The great benefit of hydrotherapy lies in its ability to relieve pain through improving or normalizing blood flow. This is analogous to the idea of movement and health in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM believes ill health begins the moment the flow of energy (qi) is blocked or impaired, which can lead to the blockage and stasis of blood. The first sign of this situation is pain.

To understand how healing takes place in the body through hydrotherapy, we need to look at the physiological effects of hot and cold temperatures of water on the circulation of the body. Good circulation is the smooth flow of blood in and out of tissues, bringing in oxygen and nutrients and taking out carbon monoxide and waste products. If we believe in the premise that poor health -- overall or in an area of the body -- results from poor circulation or that poor circulation leads to poor health, then healing is proportional to the restoration of normal blood flow. The amount of water content in the body is about 70% or more. Hydrotherapy has the ability to influence the flow of this water content and the substances within it. Therefore, through the effects of temperature changes normal blood flow can be restored and along with it, health.

The altered circulatory activity achieved by hydrotherapy influences the metabolism of substances within the blood and surrounding tissues, particularly the muscle, lymphatic and nervous tissues. The lymphatic system and lymph flow is a key component of our immune system and hydrotherapy can influence the flow and activities within the lymph vessels. Furthermore, the nervous system responds to hot and cold temperature changes, resulting in the ability of hydrotherapy to produce a stimulating or sedating response in your body.