Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy
The Everyday Miracle of Water
H
2O.This little molecule is so commonplace that it’s hard to think of it as a wonder drug. Yet in many cases of injury or accident, our first, instinctive response is to treat ourselves with water. Every time you soothe a sprained ankle with an ice pack or hold a burned finger under a stream of cold tap water, you’re practicing a basic form of hydrotherapy, an ancient healing art that is safe and painless and requires nothing more exotic than what flows out of your bathroom faucet.
First used by Hippocrates in the fourth century b.c., hydrotherapy has been a part of the healing tradition of nearly every civilization from ancient Greece and Egypt to Rome, where virtually all medicine was practiced at the public baths.
Modern hydrotherapy originated in nineteenth-century Austria with the work of Vincent Priessnitz, considered the father of the hydrotherapy movement. When one of Priessnitz’s patients, Robert Wesselhoeft, and his brother immigrated to the United States in the 1840s, hydrotherapy—or hydropathy, as it was then called—came with them.
In 1845, they founded the Brattleboro Infirmary in Vermont, modeled after Priessnitz’s famous Gräfenberg spa in Austria. One of the earliest and most famous “water cure establishments,” the infirmary attracted a distinguished clientele that included poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and novelist Harriet Beecher Stowe.
In the late nineteenth century, John Harvey Kellogg, brother of the cereal magnate and one of the most renowned physicians of his day, used water treatments at his famous Battle Creek, Michigan, sanitarium to manage pain and treat serious infections such as pneumonia. Around the same time, cold water sprays and rubs were common treatments for typhoid and pneumonia, and by the 1920s, U.S. veterans hospitals were using hydrotherapy to treat mental illness and general medical and surgical cases.
Thoroughly Modern Hydrotherapy
Today, most Americans turn to the medicine chest instead of the bathroom faucet to alleviate colds, headaches and minor injuries, and doctors are far more likely to treat patients with pills than with poultices. But in many European countries, spending a week or two at a spa remains a popular way to recuperate from a host of complaints, from simple stress and fatigue to backaches, allergies and arthritis.
And here in the States, hydrotherapy is still practiced in places such as the Uchee Pines Institute, a natural healing center in Seale, Alabama. Founded in 1970 by Agatha Thrash, M.D., a medical pathologist, and her husband, an internist, Uchee Pines helps patients rebuild their health with hydrotherapy, exercise, dietary changes and other simple remedies.
By the late 1960s, years of practicing pathology and internal medicine had left the Thrashes disillusioned with conventional treatment. “It began to seem to us that nobody ever really got well,” recalls Dr. Thrash, who is co-director of the institute. “The same patients just kept on coming back.”
While teaching a class in anatomy and physiology at a local college, she became convinced that many diseases could be successfully treated by simple physiological methods such as massage and hydrotherapy. “These remedies are far less taxing to the body than drugs, which often cause insidious complications years after you stop taking them,” she says.
So if water therapies are both safe and effective, why do so many doctors appear to favor the pharmaceutical approach? One reason is that unlike drug therapies, which have mountains of scientific evidence to document their effectiveness, hydrotherapy hasn’t been widely studied. “It’s not easy to find funding for the study of something that is so widely available to everyone at minimal cost,” says Irene Von Estorff, M.D., assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at Cornell University Medical College in New York City. “But there is a tremendous need out there for sound research to provide specific guidelines for the best uses of hydrotherapy.”
Hydrotherapy also requires “a certain amount of dedication on the part of the patient,” says Dr. Thrash. “People are conditioned to believe that getting well should be as easy as swallowing a pill; they don’t want to accept the idea that they have to eat well, exercise and devote time to treatment.”
Gulp Your Way to Health
But there’s at least one hydrotherapy treatment whose benefits are widely recognized. Doctors and patients alike know that drinking enough fresh, pure water is essential to our health and well-being.
This most basic form of hydrotherapy should be second nature to us—and it probably would be if we didn’t keep coffee, cold beer and sugary cola on hand to quench our thirst. Though caffeinated and alcoholic beverages do contain water, both cause the body to excrete more water than it actually takes in. The result is a fluid deficit, which, over time, can lead to a variety of health problems, including dry skin, constipation and bladder infections.
These problems become more common in late adulthood, says Dr. Thrash, because our need for water actually increases with age. She recommends a minimum of 6 to 8 eight-ounce glasses of water a day for people under age 50, 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses for those in their fifties and 10 to 12 eight-ounce glasses for active people 60 and over.
“As we age, our skin and mucous membranes become thinner and lose more water, and our kidneys function less efficiently, so our need for water increases,” Dr. Thrash says. “Older people just don’t feel thirst the way we did when we were younger, so we need to get in the habit of drinking water even if we’re not thirsty.”
Water is also valuable as a digestive aid, especially when it’s combined with activated charcoal, a substance made from wood or bone that has been burned and then oxidized by steam or air. (The charcoal briquettes you use on the grill are treated with chemicals to make them light faster and aren’t safe for therapeutic use.) Available in most health food stores and some pharmacies, activated charcoal is known for its ability to adsorb many times its weight in liquids or gases.
“Nobody really knows how or why charcoal works, but it is truly a miracle,” says Dr. Thrash, who keeps some in the medicine chest at all times for household emergencies from indigestion and toothaches to sore throats and food poisoning. Added to a glass of water, charcoal provides quick relief from most gastric discomfort; mixed with enough water to form a paste, it’s great first aid for sprains and insect bites, says Dr. Thrash.
Some Like It Hot, or Cold
While other hydrotherapy treatments are a little more complicated than drinking a glass of water, most are easy to learn and require no special equipment, so they’re perfect for home use.
How can a treatment as simple as a cold compress or a hot water bottle exert such a profound effect on the way we feel? The secret lies in stimulating the circulation of blood and lymphatic fluid, says Tori Hudson, N.D., a naturopathic physician and professor at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon.
Hydrotherapists control the effect by adjusting the temperature of the water and the duration of the treatment. “Heat expands and cold contracts,” says Dr. Hudson. “In general, hot water is relaxing and cold water is stimulating, although the effect also depends on how long a treatment lasts.” As a rule, shorter treatments are more stimulating than longer ones.
Many hydrotherapists also use alternating hot and cold applications. These treatments, known as contrast therapies, have a powerful effect on circulation; they speed healing by delivering a greater supply of oxygen and nutrients in the blood to the injured area, according to Dr. Hudson.
Other water treatments work on the principle of derivation—that is, relieving pain and congestion by drawing blood away from a particular area of the body. To treat a sinus headache, for example, Dr. Hudson would apply cold compresses to the head and soak the feet in a hot bath to draw blood into the lower extremities, relieving the congestion in the head.
But hydrotherapy isn’t just for localized conditions such as cramps and backaches. Water treatments are also used for illnesses that affect the entire system, such as chronic fatigue syndrome. In these cases, full-body applications, such as hot immersion baths, are used to strengthen the immune system, helping the body to heal itself. These treatments work by raising the body temperature from 98.6° to 102°F and sometimes higher. This process, called hyperthermia, increases the number of white blood cells in the bloodstream and improves their movement, making them more active against infection, according to Dr. Thrash. Hot treatments also draw more blood to the surface of the skin, where immune system cells are stationed. These cells fortify the blood with disease-fighting proteins, including interferon, interleukin-1 and interleukin-2.
While Dr. Thrash says the hot immersion bath is safe for healthy adults, those who are pregnant or who suffer from medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure should get a doctor’s advice before starting hyperthermia treatments.
From Saunas to Whirlpools
While most hydrotherapy treatments are suitable for home use, a few require special equipment found in clinics or health clubs. One such treatment is the sauna, a sealed, wood-lined room heated by a special stove that treats the occupants to a dry-heat “bath.”
Sauna baths are said to stimulate circulation, relieve arthritis pain and respiratory congestion and improve the elimination of waste products through the skin. They can also be deeply relaxing and a great way to melt away stress. Experts suggest spending no more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time in a sauna and wiping your face frequently with a cool cloth to avoid overheating.
Another popular water treatment is the whirlpool bath, long used in clinics and hospitals to treat muscle and joint injuries, burns, frostbite and skin sores. Whirlpools have also found their way into health clubs and homes, where they’re used to soothe sports injuries and promote relaxation.
A less familiar water treatment is colonic irrigation, in which the colon is flushed with large quantities of water to promote detoxification. Unlike an enema, which cleanses only the lower portion of the colon, a colonic purges the entire bowel, which is about five feet long. Colonics come highly recommended by many alternative practitioners, who believe that accumulated waste matter puts a strain on the immune system and can contribute to the development of degenerative diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Because colonic irrigation can be dangerous if performed improperly, it’s essential to find a qualified practitioner. A physician, chiropractor, naturopath or gastrointestinal specialist can recommend a reliable technician.
