Hydrotherapy is treatment method that uses physical therapy practices to accelerate rehabilitation or ease chronic pain.
Also known as aquatic therapy or pool therapy, hydrotherapy uses water’s buoyancy to alter the exercise intensity of your workouts. So, you can exercise without harsh gravitational landings and reduce the stress on your joints. Common hydrotherapy exercises include: squats, lunges and running on an underwater hydrotherapy treadmill.
In addition to providing physical exercise, hydrotherapy pool environments can incorporate thermal baths, water circuits, saunas, steam rooms, aromatherapy and Epsom salts to relax stiff muscles.
If you’re looking for a new form of exercise or physical therapy, here are five key ways that hydrotherapy could help you heal:
1. Back Pain Relief
The weightless nature of the water in a hydrotherapy pool can help alleviate back pain by releasing tension in the limbs that support your aching muscles. In addition, exercising in a hydrotherapy pools makes it easier to make movements that might be unattainable or too painful to do when on land.
2. Stress Relief
The warm temperatures hydrotherapy pools help the body release endorphins that relax the body’s reaction to stress and anxiety. Many hotels and spas offer hydrotherapy pool amenities as relaxation tools that help reduce blood pressure caused by stress.
3. Strengthens Immune System
In a hydrotherapy spa, you can alternate dips in cold water to invigorate your body’s internal system and in hot water to soothes muscles and calming the system down. The increase in blood flow and circulation of white cells allows lymph (an immune system fluid) to travel the body more easily and enhance the immune system.
4. Injured Muscles
Running, biking and other common exercises practices on hard pavement can lead to injured muscles; however, hydrotherapy lets you exercise with less stress your weight-bearing joints, such as your knees and hips. Additionally, the hot water in the hydrotherapy pools can help heal your injured muscles by increasing your blood flow around the circulatory system.
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