60-90 minutes
What is Hydrotherapy and What to Expect:
Hydrotherapy is derived from the Greek word “Hydro,” meaning water, and “Therapia” meaning healing. Water is the source of life, and its properties sustain all living beings. The oldest recorded use of Hydrotherapy can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where pharaohs and royalty bathed in large warm pools of water mixed with oils and flowers. In Japan, Korea, China, and India, natural hot springs rich in minerals have been a source of cleansing for the body and soul from its impurities throughout centuries.
In Naturopathic Medicine, Hydrotherapy is proven clinically effective with numerous benefits for health. These health benefits come from the mechanical and thermal effects of water interacting with the body. The physical water properties, temperature, pressure, and permeability, help to circulate blood flow, cleanse the endocrine system, stimulate the immune system, tonify the nervous system, and improve moods and fatigue, as well as help to deliver minerals or herbal properties into the body to resolve symptoms or to cure certain diseases. Various techniques and methods have been regimented for different types of treatment.
Here are some techniques that we use to treat patients at Quintessence Naturopathic Center. We also teach you how to use these techniques at home.
Hydrotherapy techniques to treat in Office
Short Wrap: A hydrotherapy technique to wrap from axilla to mid-thigh, first cold towel or sheet, then a wool flannel covering, then a warm blanket. The duration of the session is around 45-60 minutes.
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Indications:
Digestive: Gas, bloating, constipation, irritable bowel,
Crohn’s, leaky gut, gastroparesis, chronic appendicitis, low
digestive enzyme output,
Respiratory: bronchitis, colds, flu, asthma, pneumonia
Nervous: Anxiety, depression, insomnia
Repro: infertility, amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea (use
between periods), irregular periods, erectile dysfunction,
prostatitis, BPH
Wet Sheet Wrap: A hydrotherapy technique that the wrap-sheet is dipped in cold water and wrapped snugly around the patient from neck to toe. In addition, wrapping the patient in wool blankets for 45-60 minutes with the following 3 stages during the session: 1) cooling, 2) neutral stage, 3) heating and sweating stage. Each stage has its clinical benefits and healing properties.
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3 stages allow for a variety of therapeutic effects and indications
Cooling: Antipyretic (duration 15-30 minutes - frequently changed for this purpose)
Neutral stage: Insomnia, depression, anxiety, mania (period 30-45 minutes - unwrap after towel has warmed significantly)
Heating and sweating stage: Detoxification is especially useful in alcohol, drug, or tobacco addiction. (duration 1-2 hours)
Constitutional Hydrotherapy: A hydrotherapy technique that applies 2 folded hot towels to the chest and abdomen and covers them with blanket – 4 layers of towel. Leave it on for 5 minutes. Replace with one fresh folded hot towel and place electrodes of the sine wave machine at T5, T6 level. Replace the hot towel with one folded cold towel – 2 layers of towel - and cover the patient with a wool blanket. Turn on the sine wave - ideally until upper abdominal contraction – leave for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, check for warming of the towel; if not as warm as you would like can leave it for 2 more minutes. Then remove. Now place electrodes transabdominal at approximately T10 level. Turn up the intensity to patient tolerance and leave for 10 minutes. Remove electrodes, turn the patient over and repeat the sequence of hot and cold towels without E-stim. Rub back with a dry towel at the end of treatment.
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Digestive issues – gastroparesis, irritable bowel
Syndrome, dyspepsia, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, liver
Congestion, hepatitis
Acute infections – colds, flu, UTI, bronchitis,
Nervous system – anxiety, depression, narcolepsy,
Nerve inflammation
Female reproductive issues – PMS, menstrual irregularity, dysmenorrhea, infertility
Immune deficiency – HIV, mononucleosis, autoimmune hypothyroid
Circulatory issues – Varicose veins, hemorrhoids,
Raynaud’s disease, peripheral vascular disease, hypertension
Others - Psoriasis, arthritis, diabetes, prostatitis
Hydrotherapy Techniques to use @ Home:
Contrast hydrotherapy: A hydrotherapy technique that can help with improving circulation and healing time of a specific area of the body for such conditions as cold feet, a sprain, bruise, muscle strain, etc. You need a bowl of warm water and a bowl of cold water, then either immerse the body part or use a warm washcloth to bring the temperature to the body part. Alternatively, you can use an ice pack and a hot pad. You apply the warm temperature for 3 minutes, the cold one for 30 seconds, and then repeat for 3 cycles, ending on cold. This acts as a hydraulic system that allows the warm to open up the blood vessels and pull in the blood, and the cold closes them down, pushing it out. It can be repeated at least 3 times per session and 3 times per day.
Contrast shower: A hydrotherapy technique that can considerably improve mood, alertness, and vitality. It can also help you feel warmer if you tend to feel cold. Take your morning or evening shower as you usually would, but at the end, turn the temperature to as cool as you can tolerate. Run the cold water over your legs, arms, front and back for about 30-45 seconds, and then alternate with hot water for 3 minutes. Do this alternating cold and hot water 3 consecutive times and end with cold water. Typically this needs to be done consistently for days or weeks before effects are noticed, so don’t give up if you don’t feel a change immediately.
Warming socks: This technique can help with a stuffy head, flu, sinus congestion, or headache. Before bed, take a pair of cotton socks and a pair of wool socks. Get the wet cotton socks, wring them out, and put them on your feet. Then pull the dry pair of wool socks over them and go to bed. When you wake up in the morning, the cotton socks will dry. The cold socks on the feet stimulate increased blood to be sent to the feet, improving bodywide circulation and ideally reducing head congestion.
Warm foot bath: This technique is a variation of warming socks that helps similarly with a stuffy head, sinus congestion, or headache. Place your feet in warm water for 20-30 minutes. This improves blood flow to the feet and increases bodywide circulation.