Water has been a part of healing practices from ancient times and great healing powers have been attributed to it as seen in phrases like “healing waters” and the “fountain of youth.” The Romans built bathhouses throughout their empire. Saunas have been popular in Scandinavian countries for many years and have risen in popularity in the United States in the latter half of the 20th century. In Europe and the United States, people go to spas that have been built around the mineral waters of natural hot springs for periods of rest and rejuvenation. Today, hydrotherapy, or water-based therapy, is used to treat wounds, injuries, and burns, to promote physical rehabilitation, and to manage stress
The use of water as a healing treatment is known as hydrotherapy. Nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists, naturopaths, massage therapists, yoga masters, and conventional physicians incorporate various forms of hydrotherapy in their professional practice. Programs of study in each discipline cover the use of hydrotherapy techniques that are appropriate for the particular professional practice. Hydrotherapy, the use of hot and cold moisture in the form of solid, liquid, or gas, makes use of the body’s response to heat and cold.
The primary effect of both heat and cold is stimulation. The secondary effects of heat are drowsiness, sedation, and relaxed muscles. Heat also dilates blood vessels, increasing the circulation to the area being heated. The secondary effects of cold are invigoration and restoration. Cold constricts blood vessels, reducing circulation to that area of the body.
Hydrotherapy is used to decrease pain, decrease fever, reduce swelling, lessen cramps, induce sleep, and improve physical and mental tone. It must be used with great care in the young and the old who have poor heat regulation and also with people experiencing a prolonged illness or fatigue.
Three basic types of hydrotherapy are compresses, bathing, and sweat baths. The general use of compresses involves towels wrung out in hot and cold water and alternately applied to the body. The intense fluctuations in temperature are believed to improve the circulation to the stomach, liver, kidneys, and intestines, thereby improving digestion and the elimination of metabolic wastes. Other examples of compresses include ice packs to reduce the swelling of sprained ankles and hot water packs for muscle pain.
Baths, as a form of hydrotherapy, involve local baths such as a foot, sitz, and full immersion baths. They may be hot or cold or alternating. Hot water, and the sub- stances sometimes added to the water, increase blood flow to the skin, open pores, and increase sweating, all of which lead to a faster release of toxins. Warm water is often used to irrigate and cleanse wounds. Full immersion baths are used for physical rehabilitation. Exercising in water can be more effective and cause less strain to the skeleton and joints than exercise out of water.
Sweat baths are a method of detoxification that enables the body to eliminate salt, drugs, and a variety of toxins. They are typically done in a steam room or a sauna.
A process in yoga called neti (pronounced NAY- tee) involves various methods for cleansing the nasal passages. One method is to sniff warm water into the nostrils and spit it out of the mouth. Neti bottles are also available and are designed to pour water into one nostril, which will then come out the other nostril.