Water procedures are useful and pleasant. Hydrotherapy. Water procedure: sauna

Hydrotherapy or hydrotherapy is the use of water in general and local procedures carried out for therapeutic and preventive purposes. The therapeutic effect is due to the temperature, mechanical and chemical influence of water and depends on the method of administration.

Water procedures are not recommended for hypothermia and fatigue. In this case, you should warm up and rest.The degree of thermal effect of water depends on its temperature. According to this indicator, cold procedures are distinguished (below 20 °C), cool (20–33 °C), indifferent (34–36 °C) and hot (over 40 °C).

The use of water procedures should be strictly individual, i.e., determined by the patient’s underlying disease, as well as concomitant diseases. The water procedure must be carried out quickly, for this you also need to have appropriate clothing with you.

For weakened and elderly patients, it is better to limit themselves to a warm bath and shower.Water procedures must be coordinated and discussed with your doctor!

Medicinal recipes

Arthritis

Cold compress: soak a towel in cold water and wring it out. Apply to the sore joint. The duration of the procedure is 15–20 minutes.

Hot compress: soak a towel in hot water and wring it out. Apply to the sore joint. The duration of the procedure is 15–20 minutes.

Epsom salt bath: Add 2 handfuls of Epsom salts to a hot water bath for 15-20 minutes. Such baths are contraindicated for elderly people or those suffering from hypertension.

Asthma

Baths with increasing water temperature: immerse your arms up to your elbows in the bath. The initial temperature is 36–37 °C. Add hot water every 2 minutes so that the temperature rises by 0.5 °C. Finish the procedure after 20 minutes, pour cold water over your right hand, then your left hand, starting from the fingertips to the shoulders. Dry your hands and lie down for 30–40 minutes.

Such baths have a relaxing effect on the muscles of the bronchi, preventing and relieving an asthmatic attack.

Insomnia

Sitz cold bath: pour water into the bath so that it reaches the lower abdomen. The duration of the procedure is 1–2 minutes.

Baths with a gradual increase in water temperature for the lower body: fill the bath with water (water temperature – 36–37 °C). After 2 minutes, gradually add hot water. Raise the temperature of the bath water until it reaches 39–42 °C. The water temperature must be increased so slowly that you do not feel any burning or chills. After 20 minutes, it is recommended to douse yourself with cold water or take a cold shower, then rest.

A sore throat

Wrapping the neck: wipe the neck with a damp towel, then wrap it with a dry, rough bandage in 3-4 turns so that there is no access to air. The duration of the procedure is 1 hour.

Neck wrap: Wrap a soft towel soaked in cold water around your neck. Wrap a dry towel over it, and then a woolen bandage. The duration of the procedure is no more than 1 hour.

Backache

Hot compress: To relieve pain from muscle strains and sciatica, you can apply a towel soaked in hot water and wrung out.

Alternating hot and cold compresses: apply a towel soaked in hot water and wrung out to the sore spot for 2 minutes, then replace it with a towel soaked in cold water for 1 minute. Alternate compresses for 15 minutes.

Warm baths: place a mattress made of porous material or a terry towel at the bottom of the bath. Fill the bath 10 cm with water (water temperature – 36–37 °C). Lie down on the mattress with a rubber pillow under your head. Add hot water at intervals of 2-3 minutes, increasing the temperature by 0.5 °C each time. Carry out the procedure for 10–15 minutes, when finished, take a cold shower and lie down for 30 minutes.

Pain in the neck

Hot compress: soak a towel in hot water, fold and squeeze well. Unfold the towel and place it on your upper back, neck and shoulders. Cover with a dry towel. Keep the compress for 10 minutes. This procedure is primarily useful for pain caused by muscle stiffness.

Phlebeurysm

Alternating hot and cold compresses: Apply compresses to affected areas for 30 seconds. Repeat the sequence 3 times. The last compress should be cold. It is recommended to carry out the procedure once a day.

Bloating

Compress on the body: moisten the blanket with water, cover it so that the body is covered, then wrap it in a woolen blanket on top. Carry out the procedure for 30–40 minutes.

Compress on the torso and back: place the soaked blanket on a bed covered with oilcloth. Lie down on it, apply another compress to your torso and cover yourself with a woolen blanket. The duration of the procedure is 30–40 minutes.

Alternating hot and cold compresses: place a towel soaked in hot water on your stomach, then put a towel soaked in cold water for 1 minute. Repeat the procedure several times.

Haemorrhoids

Alternate hot and cold baths: each bath should last approximately 1–2 minutes.

Hypertension

Cold foot bath: pour cold water into a basin (in some cases you can start with cool water), lower your feet into the basin. The duration of the procedure is 5–7 minutes.

Warm foot bath: pour warm water, add 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 liter of water. Place your feet in the water. The duration of the procedure is 10–15 minutes.

Alternating hot and cold foot baths: pour hot water into one container and cold water into the other. Soak your feet in hot water for 3 minutes and then in cold water for 1 minute. Repeat this procedure 3-4 times.

Headache

Alternating hot and cold compresses: wring out a towel soaked in hot water and apply to the back of the head for 2 minutes. Then replace it with a towel soaked in cold water for 1 minute. Alternate for 10–15 minutes.

Spinal diseases

Pouring the back: first, pour from the heels to the back of the head, then from the neck down to the lower edge of the sacrum and on the other side from the right to the left shoulder blade. Pouring the back should always be accompanied or ended with a quick wash of the chest, abdomen and arms.

Constipation

Alternating hot and cold compresses: soak a towel in hot water, wring it out, apply it to the stomach for 3 minutes, then replace it with a towel soaked in cold water, which should be held for 1 minute. Alternate compresses for 10-15 minutes.

Stones in the kidneys

Hot baths with oat straw decoction: boil the straw for 30 minutes, use the decoction to prepare a warm bath with a water temperature of about 30 °C. It is recommended to take this bath no longer than 25 minutes. After completing the procedure, you should wash your body with cold water and wipe dry with a towel.

Intestinal colic

Compress on the abdomen: place a thick cloth soaked in warm water on the lower abdomen and cover with a warm blanket on top. The duration of the procedure is 20 minutes.

Alternating hot and cold compresses: hold a hot compress (towel soaked in hot water, wrapped over a dry towel) for 3 minutes, then replace it with a cold compress for 1 minute. Alternate cold and hot compresses for 20 minutes. Finish with a hot compress.

Calluses

Steam foot bath: fill a basin with boiling water, place your feet on the edge of the basin and cover with a thick blanket. The duration of the procedure is 10–15 minutes. It is not recommended to do such baths more than once a week.

Muscle tension

Cold compress: To reduce pain, it is recommended to apply a bandage soaked in cold water to the affected area every 30 minutes. Keep the compress for 5 minutes.

Hot compress: To reduce pain, it is recommended to apply a bandage soaked in hot water to the affected area every 30 minutes. Keep the compress for 5 minutes.

Osteochondrosis

Compress on the back: place a blanket soaked in warm water on a bed previously covered with oilcloth, lie on your back and cover yourself with a wool blanket. The procedure takes 45 minutes. This compress has a beneficial effect on back pain and osteochondrosis.

Rheumatism

Pouring hands: Pouring should begin with the hands, moving up to the shoulders. Usually a similar procedure is carried out for both hands. To pour each hand you will need approximately 15 liters of water.

Fatigue

Leg wraps: wrap your legs in a wet linen bandage to the knees, wrap tightly on top with a dry piece of woolen material. Go to bed for 2–3 hours.

A warm bath helps with fatigue caused by stress.

Alternating cold and hot showers improves blood circulation and restores strength, increases muscle tone, gives strength, and improves immunity.

Tired legs

Alternating hot and cold compresses: apply a hot compress to your feet for 2 minutes, then a cold compress for 1 minute.

Cold foot baths: keep your feet in a basin of cold water for 1-2 minutes.

Alternating hot and cold foot baths: pour hot water into one basin, cold water into the other. Soak your feet in hot water for 2 minutes and then in cold water for 1 minute. Repeat the procedure 3-4 times.

For human life, water takes first place. Our body is 70% water; it takes part in most physiological processes in the body. Without it, digestion, metabolism, synthesis in cells, removal of toxins from the body and many biological processes are impossible.

Being the source of life, water has the most beneficial effect on the entire body as a whole.

Daily water procedures - rubbing, hardening, dousing, showers and baths help strengthen the body. Thanks to them, the speed of chemical reactions in the body increases, the activity of the central and autonomic nervous system is activated, and thermoregulation improves. Water speeds up thinking, the work of all organs becomes more coordinated, the body is charged with vigor and strength, the skin becomes fresh, beautiful and pleasant.

Water procedures enhance the protective reactions of the entire body and many organs, sometimes located in different parts of the body. Thus, foot baths have a beneficial effect on the blood vessels of the brain, and hand baths have a beneficial effect on the blood vessels of the chest.

The effect of various baths on the human body is primarily determined by the temperature of the water.

Hot baths and wraps

Baths with elevated water temperatures (from 38 degrees) help relieve liver and kidney colic in diseases of the abdominal cavity, muscle tension and help recovery from colds.

However, hot baths for colds and flu can only be taken if there is no fever. If it does rise, it must first be normalized and then treatment continued. In such cases, it is effective to replace baths with wraps using hot towels. To begin with, the breasts should be wrapped in two cotton towels, not rolled very tightly. Place terry towels on top, folded as described above, soaked in hot water (60-65 degrees) and wrung out. Then continue wrapping using folded woolen cloth and finally cover the body with a warm blanket for 20 minutes. After the time has passed, put on a warm cotton shirt, preferably with sleeves, and cover yourself with a warm blanket. Keep warm in this way for at least an hour, and it is best to do the hot procedure before bed.

Hot baths should not be taken for diseases of the cardiac and vascular systems, thrombophlebitis, active pulmonary tuberculosis, infectious diseases, or during pregnancy.

Warm baths

Baths with water temperatures not exceeding body, approximately 36-37 degrees, have a relaxing effect on the body, taken to relieve tension, fatigue, muscle tone, improve mood, improve night sleep. They help lower blood pressure, dilate blood vessels and increase the secretion of bile and improve gastric secretion. The gentle warmth of the bath relaxes muscle tissue and improves the functions of hormonal regulators. Warm baths are recommended for diseases of the nervous system, internal organs and musculoskeletal system.

Indifferent baths

The water temperature drops by one degree from 35 to 33.

Cool and cold baths

The temperature of cool baths ranges from +21 to + 33 degrees.

The temperature of cold baths is from +20 degrees and below.

Such baths have a stimulating effect on the body and a beneficial effect on the central nervous system. They help harden the body, increase the tone of smooth muscles, increase heart contractions and increase blood pressure, and stimulate metabolism.

Cold and hot shower

The most effective water procedure, without a doubt, is a contrast shower - alternating hot and cold water. Hot water is usually used at a temperature of +39-40 degrees, and cold water is +18-20 degrees. To ensure the effect on the body is effective, alternations must be repeated at least five times.

A contrast shower is an excellent way to train blood vessels. It helps strengthen the cardiovascular system, activate metabolic processes in the body, enhance blood circulation, protective properties, healing and rejuvenation.

Most people's living conditions allow them to take baths and showers in a pleasant home environment. However, it is important to remember that you can stay in hot baths for no more than 5 minutes, warm baths are recommended from 10 to 20 minutes, indifferent – ​​from 15 to 40 minutes, cool – no more than 10, and cold – from 2 to 5 minutes.

Water treatments have amazing life-giving powers.

Be healthy, beautiful, strong physically and spiritually!

With sincere respect, Tatyana

In most cases, the cause of many diseases is weakened immunity. Perhaps the most effective way to strengthen the immune system is hardening. We have already talked about hardening with the sun and air. Today we will talk about water hardening. Summer is the most favorable period for this, allowing you to use all types of water procedures, including swimming in open water.

Since ancient times, our ancestors used a bathhouse followed by rubbing with snow or swimming in a river or lake to improve health, regardless of the time of year and weather.

It is known that Pushkin was very fond of taking ice baths in the morning, preferring hardening to expensive medicines and consultations with the “luminaries” of medicine of that time. And the most famous “walrus” of our country was the great scientist Pavlov, who swam in the Neva in any weather.

Doctors consider hardening to be a type of physical education and advise children to be taught it from early childhood, thus preventing the occurrence of various diseases, especially the common cold among preschool children.

Constant hardening of the body with cold, in particular cold water, leads to the fact that in the event of unexpected hypothermia, a protective reflex is triggered, preventing the occurrence of colds and more serious diseases associated with them. In addition, water is an excellent stimulant for the cardiovascular, circulatory and respiratory systems.

You need to start hardening with water with the simplest procedures. First of all, you must accustom yourself to washing your face only with cold water. This seemingly simple and safe procedure has several stages. The water should not be initially icy: your body may not like it. At the first stage of hardening, let the water temperature be no lower than room temperature, that is, approximately 20-22 degrees. Gradually lower the water temperature either by 1 degree every day or by 2 degrees every 2-3 days. As a result, you should get into the habit of washing your face with cold tap water.

The second stage of water hardening is to learn how to gargle with cold water painlessly for your body. Again, start with warm water, gradually lowering its temperature.

The third stage of hardening the body using hydrotherapy is wiping the body with a sponge, mitten or towel moistened with cold water. When wiping, the water temperature should also be reduced gradually. Start with 25 degrees and, daily lowering the water temperature by 1 degree, bring it to cold. After each wipe, wipe the body dry with a terry towel. When performing this procedure, it is very important to follow the order of wiping. First you need to wipe your hands, starting with your palms, then your neck, chest and back, ending with your feet.

The next, fourth stage is hardening the legs. There are several ways to harden your legs with water. Start with the simplest things. Every day before going to bed, immerse your feet in a basin of water for 1 minute. At first, the water should not be very cold. It is best if its temperature is 25 degrees. Daily increase the duration of the procedure by 1 minute, while simultaneously lowering the water temperature by 1 degree. As a result, your feet should be in a basin of water drawn from a tap for 10 minutes without any discomfort. And do not forget to rub your feet with a terry towel after completing this procedure.

This method of hardening your legs with water is no less effective. Pour warm water (about 35 degrees) into one basin, and cool water into the other, but not lower than 15 degrees. Alternately immerse your legs in one or the other basin. It is recommended to start the procedure by immersing your feet in a basin of hot water, and ending with immersing your feet in cold water. At the same time, keep your feet in hot water for about 1 minute, in cold water - no more than 30 seconds.

At first, the total duration of this procedure should be approximately 5 minutes. Gradually increase the temperature difference by lowering the cold water temperature. Lowering it by 1 degree every day should result in you being able to keep your feet in water with a temperature of 5 degrees without any discomfort. At the same time, increase the duration of immersing your feet in cold water to 3 minutes. At the end of the procedure, be sure to dry your feet with a towel.

Only after you have accustomed your feet to the cold can you move on to the fifth stage of hardening with water - dousing the whole body. Start by pouring cool water from a basin. This procedure will be as follows. Stand in the bathtub, fill a basin with cool water and quickly pour water from the basin onto yourself, directing the stream to the top of your head. At first, you need to limit yourself to one douche. Over time, the procedure will include an increasing number of douches.

The water you will douse yourself with should not be immediately cold. First accustom your body to dousing with warm water. A temperature of 30 degrees is fine to start with. Lower the water temperature by 1 degree every day, gradually bringing it to 5 degrees. Do not under any circumstances neglect rubbing your body with a soft terry towel after this procedure. Avoid hypothermia in the next hour after the end of the douche. The best time for the procedure is during the day or late evening.

When your body gets used to regular douches,

You need to start taking a contrast shower with warm water, the temperature of which will be equal to your body temperature. Then you have to adjust the water tap so that the water temperature drops slightly. After standing under cool water for 10 seconds, turn the tap back to warm water. The time for pouring hot water is not limited. Stand under the hot water until you are warm and feel ready to continue dousing with cold water. You need to finish the contrast shower with cool water, after which you need to rub your body dry with a towel.

Every two days, lower the temperature of the cold water by 1-2 degrees, bringing it to a minimum that will not cause discomfort to the body. Gradually increase the time you take a cold shower from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. At the same time, increase both the total duration of the procedure and the time of taking a cold shower, bringing it from 10 seconds to 2 minutes. The total duration of the procedure should also gradually increase from 5 to 20-30 minutes.

Under no circumstances should you rush to lower the water temperature and reach the lowest point in a short time, experiencing discomfort. Remember that the main principle of hardening is gradualism. Please also note that a contrast shower can only be taken by a person who is not currently suffering from a cold. You cannot start hardening if you have a cold: the body, weakened by the disease, will not withstand the additional load, which can aggravate the disease, causing various complications.

Contrast showers have a beneficial effect on the human body. However, its impact is not uniform. Firstly, taking a contrast shower relaxes the body, restores the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system, stabilizes the functioning of the nervous system, and strengthens the immune system. All these processes occur due to the effect on the body of alternating cold and warm water. While taking a shower, when the drops fall on the shoulders and back, the effect of a collar massage is created, which is an excellent means of preventing and treating diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Secondly, a shower has the ability to invigorate and lift your spirits. Therefore, it is recommended to take a contrast shower in the morning to get into a working mood after sleep.

After your body gets used to regularly taking a contrast shower, replace it or supplement it with a cold shower. The technique of taking a cold shower is similar to a contrast shower. Your task is to gradually lower the temperature of the water and increase your stay under its invigorating streams. Start with a water temperature of 30 degrees, lowering it by 1 degree every day and bringing it to 5 degrees. Gradually increase the time you take a cold shower from 20 seconds to 5-7 minutes.

Now you have to master cold baths. The first step in mastering this procedure will be to take a bath with warm water (the kind you take every day). Lower the water temperature by 1 degree every day. There is no point in increasing the bath time, since initially you will choose the amount of time that suits you. After taking a cold bath, you need to rub your body well with a terry towel and wipe it dry.

Do not forget that a hot bath cannot be completely replaced by a cold one. Cold water strengthens the body's immune system, but only hot water can cleanse the body of dirt and bacteria. Therefore, ideally, you should take either a hot bath or a warm shower some time after taking a cold bath.

Once you have mastered the cold bath technique, you can eliminate rubbing, dousing, and foot baths, since these procedures are only used as the initial stages of hardening with water.

A variation of the hydrotherapy hardening method is barefoot walking. The best time to start it outside the home is, of course, in the summer. Make it a rule to regularly walk barefoot in your summer cottage. Walking barefoot in the morning dew, as well as on the grass after rain, is especially useful. In the city, you can use a square or stadium as a place to walk barefoot.

In cold weather, you can continue walking barefoot at home by making a simple exercise machine. Place small smooth pebbles in a single layer into a wooden box (you can bring sea pebbles from the south), moisten the pebbles with water and trample on them for 10-15 minutes. Perform this procedure morning and evening.

Tempering water procedures also include swimming in an open body of water in the warm season. From the very beginning, the time spent in water should not exceed 3-5 minutes to prevent hypothermia. Gradually, the duration of bathing can be increased by 2 minutes. The maximum recommended time spent in open water should not exceed 25-30 minutes.

When hardening, you need to constantly move in the water, otherwise the body will quickly cool down and chills will appear. The best form of movement in water is swimming. If you don’t know how to swim, you can jump in the water, play some water games, and do simple gymnastic exercises.

Hardening with sea water is very useful. Studies have shown that it has greater thermal conductivity and heat capacity than fresh water. This means that when swimming, sea water absorbs much more heat from the body, thereby increasing the cooling effect many times over. Therefore, hardening of this kind is more effective. True, in order to avoid hypothermia and the appearance of chills, the duration of stay in sea water should be less than in running water.

It is recommended to start sea swimming at a water temperature of 20-25 degrees and at an air temperature of at least 20 degrees. It is best to take sea baths in the morning. Swimming in running water, like swimming in a pool, perfectly tones the nervous system, and sea bathing, in addition to everything else, has a mechanical (hydromassage with waves) and chemical (the effect of salts dissolved in sea water) effect.

Try not to stop swimming in open water until late autumn. Hardening procedures performed at home will help you with this, especially rubdowns and contrast showers. In winter, swimming in open water can be replaced by swimming in a pool. However, having received good training over the summer, you will be able to take up winter swimming.

Winter swimming is one of the best ways to increase immunity, and also prevents premature aging,

Text: Olga Kim

Water is vital for the human body. When the body becomes dehydrated, almost irreparable changes can occur. The most harmless thing is the gradual withering and aging of the skin. So we must not forget about water, and even more so about water procedures.

Water treatments - there is nothing better than a hot bath!

Water procedures have long been used for medicinal purposes in the fight against various diseases. And not only for this - water promotes relaxation and vigor of body and spirit. The most banal, but nevertheless one of the most pleasant water procedures in our lives is a bath. Hot water procedures help in the first stages of a cold. If you feel like you are getting sick, take a hot bath with sea salt. But such a bath should be limited in time - no more than 20 minutes. Immediately after it, immediately go to bed and wrap yourself up. Water procedures in the bath help open pores, and sea salt helps remove toxins and toxins. Such a procedure would be appropriate just before bedtime, so that during sleep the healing process is not disturbed by external factors.

There are water procedures such as turpentine baths. Their main goals are to disinfect the skin, warm the body and stimulate blood circulation. Only for such a procedure there are contraindications, such as problems with the cardiovascular system. So it is better to discuss the procedure with your doctor in advance.

Water treatments with herbal infusions (chamomile, sage, calendula) or the addition of orange zest soothe the skin and also make it soft and soft. If you add a few drops of any essential oil to such a bath, it will not only help your skin, but also relieve fatigue and tension. Just remember that the temperature of such a bath should not exceed 38 degrees and should not last too long. This has a negative effect on the heart.

Water treatments - play with contrasts

If you like to take a shower, then let it be contrasting. This alternation of hot and cold water refreshes the body, relieves stress and tones it up. At the same time, you can also massage the body using the same contrast jet. Don't be afraid to catch a cold, with a contrast shower you will forget about what a cold is.

Previously, dousing with ice water in any weather was considered the best way to harden the body. Some diseases were even treated in the same way, and even in the field of oncology. This effect is due to the powerful stimulating and invigorating effect that the body experiences during and after the procedure.

What are water procedures without a bath? After all, this is not only a place for relaxation, but also an excellent way to recover from a number of diseases. The main effect of the bath is the effect of dry steam on the body. If you drop a little essential oil or herbal decoction on the stones, the healing effect will only increase. A broom in a bathhouse acts as a massager, and dousing with cold water acts as a powerful energy stimulator that improves the condition of the skin and strengthens the body as a whole. You just need to be extremely careful with the temperature in the bathhouse - it is not recommended to stay there for a long time, especially for people with heart disease and hypertension.

Recently, hydromassage has become popular among water treatments. It helps stimulate blood circulation, increase muscle tone and even lose weight. But hydromassage can have a truly beneficial effect in professional salons, and not in home baths.

Water treatments have long proven their benefits. Not only that, they also bring indescribable pleasure. Who doesn’t want to lie in the bath at the end of the working day, turn on your favorite music and forget about your problems, at least for a while? Especially when it is also useful!

Hydrotherapy is a complex of cosmetic and medical procedures aimed at rehabilitation, preventive, aesthetic and therapeutic purposes. These include the external use of river, lake, tap or rain water in the form of douches, wraps, rubdowns, hot and cold baths and showers. Currently, internal hydrotherapy, in which clean drinking water acts as a sludge removal agent, has become widely popular, but internal hydrotherapy has not received recognition by orthodox medicine.

Hydrotherapy is an ancient healing and rejuvenating procedure that has its roots far back in antiquity: in many beliefs and myths, water was endowed with divine life-giving powers.

The first hydrotherapist was the court physician of Gaius Julius Caesar, Antony Muse, who cured the ill Roman emperor in a very unusual way - cold poultices.

However, hydrotherapy truly became widespread in the 18th century thanks to the work of physiotherapists Sebastian Kneipp and Vincent Priesnitz, who established the first hydrotherapy clinic in Greffenberg. After them, scientists Wilhelm Winternitz, Alexander Nikitin, B.M. published their works on the healing properties of water. Grzhimailo, S.P. Botkin.

Hydrotherapy or hydrotherapy is an integral part of physiotherapy.

Types of hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy differs from other treatment methods in its simplicity, accessibility and simplicity.

Hydrotherapy is represented by such types of procedures as:

• Shower. The essence of hydrotherapy using a shower is to expose the body to jets of water at a certain temperature and under a certain pressure. The physiological effect of a shower depends on the volume of water supplied per unit of time, the “hardness” of the stream, as well as the degree of deviation of its temperature from the indifferent one (34-36 degrees Celsius). There are rain showers, dust showers, circular showers, Scottish showers, needle showers, Charcot showers (in the form of a dense stream of water directed at a person under pressure), rising showers, etc.;
• A simple bathtub and a hydromassage bathtub (jacuzzi). There is a general bath, in which the patient’s head and neck remain above the surface of the water, and a local bath, the essence of which is the effect (temperature, vibration) on a certain part of the body (legs, arms, pelvic area);
• Hydrokinesitherapy. Represents swimming and therapeutic exercises in water;
• Thermal hydrotherapy. This includes hydrotherapy with groundwater at a temperature of 37-42 degrees Celsius;
• Balneotherapy. Treatment with mineral water.
• Pouring. This is a hardening and restorative procedure, the mechanism of action of which is a short-term effect on the body of low temperature;
• Saunas and steam rooms. The therapeutic effect is achieved by exposing the body to high temperature steam.

Depending on the water temperature, all water procedures are divided into:

• Cold (at temperatures below 20 degrees);
• Cool (21-33 degrees Celsius);
• Indifferent (34-36 degrees Celsius);
• Warm (37-39 degrees Celsius);
• Hot (40 degrees and above).

Mechanism of action of hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy is based on mechanical, temperature and chemical factors affecting the body with ordinary water.

During a hydrotherapy session, the nerve endings located on the skin are irritated, which leads to the appearance of a nerve impulse that travels along the centripetal pathways of the body to the brain and spinal cord. The nerve impulse returns along centrifugal pathways to the organ associated with a specific area of ​​the spinal cord. For example, cooling the chest causes constriction of the blood vessels in the lungs, and warming the lower back causes dilation of the blood vessels in the kidneys.

Thermal effects on the body increase metabolism, improve metabolism, stimulate blood circulation, and enhance the secretory activity of the pancreas and stomach. Warm or hot water has a sedative and analgesic effect, reduces muscle tone, stimulates the activity of the endocrine system and “triggers” immune processes.

Cold water hydrotherapy is accompanied by changes in blood vessels: in the first phase they narrow, in the second they expand, followed by an acceleration of blood flow. Under the influence of cooled blood, the body's responses are excited in the form of an increased release of hormones - adrenaline and thyroxine. The action of hormones causes the breakdown of nitrogen-free substances, causing cleansing and strengthening effects.

Contrast procedures, which are part of hydrotherapy, direct blood flow either deep into the body or back to the skin, train blood microcirculation processes, help normalize blood pressure, have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system, and stimulate metabolic processes.

Hydrotherapy with water with the addition of various ingredients: plant extracts, turpentine, and medications has an additional therapeutic effect.

Indications for hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy is used both by healthy people for hardening, relieving tension, fatigue, and sleep disorders, and by patients in a state of pre-illness for the purpose of preventive effects on the body.

Indications for hydrotherapy are diseases such as:

• Cardiac ischemia;
• Hypertension;
• Cardiopsychoneurosis;
• Diseases of the veins, peripheral arteries;
• Diseases of the musculoskeletal system;
• Digestive tract disorders;
• Chronic lung diseases;
• Skin diseases;
• Menstrual irregularities;
• Increased swelling of the limbs;
• Haemorrhoids;
• Cellulite;
• Migraine;
• Insomnia, various kinds of neuroses and stress.

Like any other type of treatment, hydrotherapy should be prescribed by a therapist and carried out strictly under his supervision.

Contraindications to hydrotherapy

Despite its simplicity, hydrotherapy can pose health risks. Hydrotherapy is not recommended for people suffering from:

• Tendency to impaired coronary and cerebral circulation;
• Circulatory failure above stage 1-B;
• Chronic thrombophlebitis;
• Hypertension in stage 3-B;
• Inflammatory diseases in the acute stage;
• Severe angina.

Patients who have suffered a stroke, myocardial infarction, as well as diabetics, pregnant women and patients with atherosclerosis should consult a specialist before prescribing water procedures.