Hot tub therapy has extensive use for curing a wide range of disorders. Muscle injuries, arthritis, sleeplessness, headaches and over stress can give you a painful ordeal to which advantages of hydrotherapy with a tub of hot water could be introduced.
This is a pure home remedy and the types of equipment required are simple and inexpensive. A tub, facilities for water heating and a towel are all that you need to get rid of painful muscle pull or a severe arthritic condition. Therapeutic benefits of hydrotherapy had been known to man since ages. Hot spring bath had been in vogue in ancient times. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any benefits of cold tub therapy, which is wonderful in its own regards.
Currently, hot tub therapy is nothing but a modernized version of historical remedial measures using water. Spas offer this therapy under the trade name of Jacuzzi. However, the catch point is that you need to get your tub right and consultation with the doctor is also advised.
The science behind the therapeutic application of hot water tub:
Sore muscles and knots can make your life hell and so would arthritis. Pain and swelling strike together quite often which can be relieved using an ice pack. Application of heating pad over the affected area could give you comfort. Alternatively, a bottle filled with hot water can serve your purpose well. The aim is to relax the stiff areas and improve blood circulation.
This is the fundamental principle on which hot tub therapy is modeled. In this therapy, the force of hot water sprayed on the injury delivers the much needed hot massage. The right mix of massage, buoyancy and heat would help cure the affected muscles and joints. One can easily get the benefit of Jacuzzi with the right kind of hot tub installed at home.
9 health benefits of hot tub therapy:
1. Healing of bruised muscles:
Advantages of hydrotherapy cannot be overemphasized. Bruised muscle is common among active sportsperson which is generally treated with cold water or ice pack followed by sufficient rest. Hot tub therapy ensures a more efficient way of treating this condition.
The water spraying jets fitted with the tub has a crucial role in massaging. It gives you a revitalizing pleasure that your aching muscles are restored and a general sense of tranquility sets in. No matter how severe is your muscle ache or feeble your physical state is, if you make it a regular habit to undergo hot tub therapy even for an hour it will be highly therapeutic.
2. Quick relief from pain:
If you suffer from chronic back pain injury, hot tub therapy can give excellent results. The jets of warm water released in the tub gives a relaxing massage to the sore and strained muscles. Your body feels light owing to the buoyancy giving you a quick relief from all sorts of body aches including a headache.
3. Mitigates stress:
Soaking in the normal bathtub after a hectic day itself is highly relaxing. With a hot tub, the effects are bound to be better. Your body muscles and nerves get the relaxing feel as the water jets run over your body dilating the blood vessels making way for better circulation. Your body releases more of stress-reducing endorphins.
The buoyancy and the warmth of the water add to the relaxing feel slowing releasing your stress. People suffering from depression can also benefit from this therapy.
4. Improves sleep:
This is one of the important therapeutic benefits of hot tub therapy. Your body gets warmer after spending some time in the hot tub which induces sleep. You don’t have to struggle to have a sound sleep if your body achieves the right thermostatic conditions. The enhanced blood circulation from hot tub jets reduces inflammation and soothes stressed nerves and muscles promoting better sleep.
5. Calms arthritic pain:
The Arthritis Foundation declares hydrotherapy as one of the effective applications of water in managing arthritic conditions. The warmth and gentle massage of water jets help in improving circulation in the joints and reduces inflammation.
The joints loosen enabling a better movement. Many spas maximize the benefits of Jacuzzi by offering effective hot tub treatments to elderly arthritic patients.
6. Helps in diabetes management:
Some studies reveal that regular usage of hot tub has resulted in lowering of blood sugar of the diabetics. Though more extensive research and clinical data are required to support this finding, one can’t deny the beneficial effect of improved circulation in managing diabetes.
The combined effect of massage, buoyancy and temperature of the hot tub water has some good effects on the impaired circulations that diabetics often face. The heat also increases the body metabolism which further helps in lowering blood sugar. Diabetics looking for this therapy should have a prior consultation with their physician.
7. Lowers blood pressure:
Keeping your mind calm and stress-free is a great way to control hypertension or high blood pressure. But this is often tough to maintain. Prolonged stress and tension produce a higher level of cortisol, which may ruin your body over time. Relaxing in the hot water tub pushes your body to a regenerative state that helps in lowering the blood pressure.
8. Helps in treating other conditions:
The muscle and joint relaxing effects of hot water tub therapy can be effective in treating other conditions like Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, fibromyalgia, tendinitis, scoliosis and bursitis.
9. Enables performing low impact exercise:
Overweight people, those struggling with injury and the elderly often experience difficulty while exercising on land. This can be overcome to some extent with hot tub therapy as the buoyancy makes your body feel lighter and water temperature helps in freeing your limbs and joints for low impact exercise. However, these should be done under professional supervision.
Getting the right tub for you:
More or less all hot tubs for hydrotherapy can deliver a combination of buoyancy, massaging and heat. If these three factors are accurately monitored, muscle pain, arthritis and several other health disorders can be managed effectively.
The capacity of pumps, number and size of water ejectors may vary but the ultimate target is to select a tub with optimal facilities that give the right intensity of massage. While choosing a tub the following factors are important – Size and orientation of water jets and Pump efficiency. A therapeutic hot water tub should be technically designed to achieve this.
