The Benefits of Hydrotherapy
The Benefits of Hydrotherapy Tubs
Drinking plenty of fresh water is one of the most fundamental things required for a healthy life, but did you know that water can also help to keep you healthy in other ways? Hydrotherapy - that is, the treatment of medical conditions using water - can be used to treat a variety of ailments, especially muscular soreness or pain, or diseases like arthritis and other conditions of the joints.
At the most basic level, hydrotherapy can be practiced simply by relaxing in a warm bath at home. Water that is warm - not too hot! - helps to warm the muscles and realign muscle fibers that have become tight, torn or knotted during the course of physical activity or stress. Add some scented bubbles to your tub, put on some relaxing music and ensure that the water temperature is warm, but not too hot, in order to unwind tired legs, release tension in the shoulders and relieve stiffness in the back. A warm bath is also beneficial for eliminating stress headaches and getting rid of muscular cramps such as those caused by menstruation or sports participation.
Specialist hydrotherapy tubs are often found to be a godsend by many sufferers of joint-related diseases such as arthritis. Arthritis actually refers to a range of inflammatory diseases that affect the joints of the body, causing swelling, pain and a decreased range of motion due to the degradation of the smooth cartilage between the bony parts of the joints. The pain and discomfort of arthritis can be alleviated to some extent with anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen, but hydrotherapy has been shown to further decrease pain and even increase a person's ability to move their joints.
In a specialist hydrotherapy pool or tub, often a jacuzzi walk-in tub used to remove the need for painful lifting of the legs over the threshold, warm water is swirled around by pumps, and/or pulsed through jets. This movement of the water, which can be controlled in terms of speed and intensity, increases the massaging effects of the warm water and helps to speed up the healing process. By applying jets of water directly to the affected areas, this gentle pressure provides feelings of release and a sense of de-stress that is achieved much more slowly in a still water bath. It also helps to reduce swelling by encouraging lymph fluid away from the area of inflammation, thus easing stiffness and improving the ability to move the affected joints.
Hydrotherapy also has an important role to play in physical therapy. Being suspended in water creates a feeling of weightlessness, thus performing exercises in water greatly reduces the stress on the joints and muscles that might otherwise be experienced through higher impact exercises.
AmeriGlide proudly manufactures jacuzzi walk in tubs that are perfect for your hydrotherapy needs. For more information on our jacuzzi walk in tubs, contact our product experts.