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Hydrotherapy

As stated on HealthlinkBC:

"Hydrotherapy is the use of water to treat a disease or to maintain health. The theory behind it is that water has many properties that give it the ability to heal:

-Water can store and carry heat and energy.

-Water can dissolve other substances, such as minerals and salts.

-Water cannot hurt you, even if you are sensitive to your surroundings.

-Water is found in different forms, such as ice, liquid, or steam. Ice may be used to cool, liquid is used in baths and compresses at varying pressures or temperatures, and steam is used in steam baths or when breathing in.

-Water can help blood flow.

-Water has a soothing, calming, and relaxing effect on people, whether in a bath, shower, spray, or compress.

-Exercise in water takes the weight off a painful joint while also providing resistance.


Hydrotherapy has been used for centuries. You use it every time you put an icepack on your sprained ankle or a heat pad on your tight shoulders. It is one of my favorite tools to use because it is so simple and I know exactly what it is doing to the tissues. During your treatment I may use various forms of hydrotherapy, here are some examples I may use or teach you to do at home:

-Hot Stones

-Cold Stones

-Hot/Cold Contrast

-Ice Massage

-Ice/cold pack

-Heating Pad

-Cold Compress

-Hot Compress

-Extremity bath/immersion

-Epsomgel Application

How does it work?

Your blood vessels have little circular muscles around them that contract(constrict) to reduce blood flow or relax(dilate) to increase blood flow to certain areas of the body. When you add cold to an area, the muscles around the vessels contract, therefore constricting the vessels and reducing blood flow. When you add heat to an area, the opposite happens and the muscles around the vessels relax and dilate the vessels, therefore increasing blood flow. Using moist heat vs dry heat tends to penetrate deeper into the body because water is an excellent conductor of heat and we are about 70% water as well.


How can this affect my tight muscles?

When tension builds up in your muscles, there is reduced blood flow in that area from the compression on the blood vessels. This sometimes causes  chemicals that tell your muscles to contract as well as many pain markers, etc., to get locked in place, thus creating this vicious cycle of tension and pain. Adding heat to this area will cause the blood vessels to dilate, allowing more blood to pass through, thus increasing blood flow, flushing the area out and sequentially reducing tension. 

To take it to another level, you can even "pump" your circulatory system by alternating from hot to cold to hot again. Sometimes adding heat just isn't enough, so you add cold after to constrict the vessels again. This will "flush out" the blood you just introduced, taking with it all the pain markers and chemicals it no longer needs, so you can add heat again, and introduce fresh blood with all the healing compounds your sore muscles do need. This method is called Contrasting, I may use it locally with hot/cold stones or with your whole hand/foot in an immersion bath.

How can this help my acute injury?

If you have recently injured yourself, are experiencing a muscle spasm or extreme pain - use COLD first (it doesn't have to be extreme). Too many times I have had people come and see me after using heat on a fresh muscle spasm or painful muscles and they have just made things so much more worse. When there is an injury to an area, an inflammatory process starts which is marked by pain to let you know something is wrong, followed by an increase in circulation to that area so your body can heal that area. This is a good process of course, but sometimes can feel a little overwhelming. As much as you can, try and just let your body run it's course, but if the pain is a little too much, applying ice or a cold compress can be helpful. This will constrict the blood vessels, flush the pain and inflammation from the area and slightly numb the area for a while. You do not want to over due this, as your body does need the inflammation to heal the area, but a little flush out every couple hours will clean it out, calm it down and make room for fresh blood to come in. I may use this technique if you come in with an injury or after working really deep in the treatment sometimes.

*Please let me know if you have any circulatory or heart issues as we may not be able to use this technique or have to use extreme caution*

Guidelines for Using COLD

Generally speaking use the CBAN method (see below for the 4 stages felt when applying ice) and never exceed 15 mins of ice in one area

C - Cold

B - Burning

A - Aching

N - Numbness 


Indicated (use with): 

Acute strains, sprains or contusions

Muscle spasms

Acute or Chronic low back pain


Contraindicated (don't use when):

Aversion or sensitivity to cold

Poor circulation

Raynaud's Syndrome

Previously frostbitten areas

Implanted device

Peripheral Vascular Disease


Guidelines for Using HEAT

Generally speaking don't leave heat on an area more than 20 minutes at a time. Give the area a break for an hour before applying heat again.

 

Indicated (use with):

Minor muscle spasms (but I would try cold first)

Poor local circulation

Muscle soreness/tension

Arthritis or joint stiffness/pain

Menstrual Cramps

 

Contraindicated (don't use when):

Acute strains, sprains or contusions

Loss of sensation

Rash or skin condition

Inflammation/swelling

Broken skin(wound/burn)

Implanted device

Peripheral Vascular Disease

Sensitivity or aversion to heat

Guidelines for CONTRASTING

Contrasting is a powerful tool for healing. It is great for reducing pain, increasing circulation and speeding up the healing process.

Generally speaking use a 3:1 ratio when applying contrasting techniques. If you are using an immersion bath for your arms or legs, do 3 minutes warm to 1 minute cool, and repeat 3-5 times. Same with a heating pad and ice pack, do about 3 minutes heat to 1 minute cold, and repeat 3-5 times. You don't have to use extreme temperature to be affective. Generally speaking the more extreme the temperature, the shorter duration you use. When I use the cold stones with the hot stones, I only leave them on for 20 seconds, just enough time to constrict the vessels quickly before reintroducing the heat. If you are trying to reduce inflammation, end with the cold application.

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