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By Gary Gordon

Water therapy has been used for healing, relaxation, pain management, and other medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Water therapy, also referred to as hydrotherapy, has been used to treat diseases and improve wound healing, circulation, digestion, and the immune system. Water therapy also has a soothing effect and calms the lungs, heart, stomach, and endocrine system by stimulating nerve reflexes on the spinal cord. Water therapy equipment is still in wide use today and we carry the most modern, scientifically tested and proven water therapy equipment on the market.

The use of water therapy can be traced all the way back to ancient China, Japan, India, Rome, Greece, the Middle East, and the Americas. There are even references to water therapy in the Old Testament of the Bible. By the 17th century, ‘taking the waters’ at hot springs and spas became popular across Europe and eventually spread to the United States. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that modern relaxation water therapy evolved in Europe with the development of spas for “water cure” ailments, ranging from anxiety to pneumonia to back pain. A Dominican monk by the name of Father Sebastian Kneipp is credited with raising public awareness of the beneficial effects of hydrotherapy. In 1889 his book, My Water Cure, was published and subsequently translated into many languages, spreading the benefits of hydrotherapy throughout Europe. His methods were later adopted by Benedict Lust, who migrated from Germany to the United States in 1896. Lust established an American school of naturopathic medicine and claimed he had cured himself of tuberculosis with Father Kneipp’s methods. He therefore made hydrotherapy a major component of naturopathic medicine. The recuperative and healing properties of hydrotherapy are commonly known today and the practice is widely used.

Modern water therapy is broadly defined as the external application of water in any form or temperature – hot, cold, steam, liquid, ice – for healing and therapeutic purposes. Healing water therapy may include immersion in a whirlpool or a Jacuzzi, the use of water jets, douches, or the application of wet towels to the skin. Such therapies have been used for the relief of various diseases and injuries as well as for stimulating a general sense of well-being. There are other therapies that include the use of water as part of a technique such as enemas, nasal irrigation, physical therapy in pools, nebulizers, humidifiers, drinking mineral water, aquatic yoga, aquatic massage, as well as aromatherapy baths.

Current research has proven that hydrotherapy can be highly beneficial and curative for a myriad of conditions. For patients who have undergone abdominal surgery, the use of a whirlpool can provide water therapy for pain management and alleviation. Whirlpool therapy can also enhance relaxation, promote pain relief, and assist in wound healing. Whirlpool therapy has also been recommended to aid venous circulation and alleviate symptoms for patients with varicose veins. Whirlpool therapy is also significantly beneficial for arthritis sufferers. Such patients have shown significant improvement in joint tenderness and in knee range of movement after whirlpool therapy. Hydrotherapy has also been recently shown to play a curative role in asthma treatment. Researchers discovered that decreased function of the adrenocortical glands, evidenced by low serum cortisol levels, improved after therapy. This was accompanied by the reduction in the dosage of glucocorticoids needed to control asthma attacks.

About the Author: To learn more visit our water therapy/ hydrotherapy section section or read more about the benefits of water therapy.

Source: isnare.com

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