Hydrotherapy /ˌhaɪdrəʊˈθerəpi/ is a part of alternative medicine that involves the use of water for pain relief (облегчение боли) and treatment (лечение).
Various /ˈveəriəs/ therapies used in the present-day hydrotherapy employ water jets, underwater massage and mineral baths /ˈmɪnərəl/ , whirlpool /ˈwɜːlpuːl/ bath, hot Roman bath, hot tub /tʌb/, Jacuzzi /dʒəˈkuːzi/, cold plunge /plʌndʒ/ (холодный душ). Water therapy may be restricted to use in physical therapy, and as a cleansing agent (очищающее средство). However, it is also used as a medium for delivery of heat and cold to the body, which has long been the basis for its application (применение). Hydrotherapy involves a range of methods and techniques /tekˈniːks/, many of which use water as a medium to facilitate (облегчить) thermoregulatory (терморегулятивный) reactions for therapeutic /ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪk/ benefit (терапевтический эффект).
The therapeutic/ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪk/ use of water has a long history. Ruins of an ancient bath were unearthed /ʌnˈɜːθt/ (раскопать) in Pakistan. Bathhouses were an essential part of ancient Roman culture. The use of steam, baths, and aromatic /ˌærəˈmætɪk/ massage to promote well being is documented since the first century.
By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, bath-houses were extremely popular with the public throughout Europe. Public bathhouses made their first American appearance in the mid 1700s.
In the early nineteenth century, Sebastien Kneipp, a Bavarian priest /priːst/ (священник) and proponent of water healing, began treating his parishioners /pəˈrɪʃənə(r)s/ (прихожане) with cold water applications after he himself was cured of tuberculosis /tjuːˌbɜːkjuˈləʊsɪs through the same methods. Kneipp wrote extensively on the subject, and opened a series of hydrotherapy clinics known as the Kneipp clinics, which are still in operation today. Around the same time in Austria ˈɒstriə/, Vincenz Priessnitz was treating patients with baths, packs, and showers of cold spring water. Priessnitz also opened a spa that treated over 1,500 patients in its first year of operation, and became a model for physicians and other specialists to learn the techniques of hydrotherapy.
Water can be used therapeutically /ˌθerəˈpjuːtɪkli/ in a number of ways. Common forms of hydrotherapy include: * Whirlpools, Jacuzzis, and hot tubs. These soaking tubs use jet streams to massage the body. They are frequently used by physical therapists to help injured patients regain muscle /ˈmʌsl/ strength and to soothe /suːð/ (успокаивать) joint (сустав) and muscle pain. Some midwives (акушерки) also approve of the use of hot tubs to soothe the pain of labor (роды). * Pools and Hubbard tanks. Physical therapists and rehabilitation ˌriːəˌbɪlɪˈteɪʃn specialists may prescribe underwater pool exercises as a low-impact method of rebuilding muscle strength in injured patients. * Baths. Baths are prescribed to reduce a fever. Baths are also one of the oldest forms of relaxation therapy. Aromatherapists often recommend adding essential oils of lavender /ˈlævəndə(r)/ to a warm to hot bath to promote relaxation and stress reduction. * Showers. Showers are often prescribed to stimulate the circulation. Water jets from a shower head are also used to massage sore muscles. In addition, showering hydrotherapy has been shown to be preferable to immersion /ɪˈmɜːʃn/ (погружение) hydrotherapy for treating burn patients. * Moist /mɔɪst/ (влажный) compresses. Cold, moist compresses can reduce swelling and inflammation /ˌɪnfləˈmeɪʃn/ (воспаление) of an injury. They can also be used to cool a fever and treat a headache. * Steam treatments and saunas. Steam rooms and saunas are recommended to open the skin pores and cleanse the body of toxins. Steam inhalation is prescribed to treat respiratory infections. Adding botanicals to the steam bath can increase its therapeutic value.
Because of the expense of the equipment and the expertise required to administer effective treatment, hydrotherapy with pools, whirlpools, Hubbard tanks, and saunas is best taken in a professional healthcare facility, and/or under the supervision of a healthcare professional. However, baths, steam inhalation treatments, and compresses can be easily administered at home.