Alternative
Therapies
>> Hydro Therapy |
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Hydrotherapy,
formerly called hydropathy, is probably the oldest
form of medical treatment. It involves the use of water for
soothing pains and treating diseases.
Its
use has been recorded as ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman
civilizations. Egyptian royalty bathed with essential
oils and flowers, while Romans had communal public baths for
their citizens. It has been long accepted that hot water springs
can improve health by increasing circulation. Hippocrates
prescribed bathing in spring water for sickness. A Dominican
monk, Sebastian Kneipp again revived it, during the 19th century.
His book My Water Cure in 1886 was published and translated
into many languages.
The
use of water to treat rheumatic diseases has a long history.
Today, hydrotherapy is used to treat arthritis, burns, spasticity,
ankylosing spondylitis, musculoskeletal disorders, spinal
cord injuries, and stroke patients with paralysis. It is also
used to treat orthopedic and neurological conditions in dogs
and horses, and to improve fitness.
Immersion
in water - and doing exercises in water - has always been
a popular therapy. Thousands of years of treatments have built
an enormous amount of expertise, but the alleged benefits
had little supporting evidence from science until approximately
30 years ago. A 2006 survey of research in Annals of the Rheumatic
Diseases discusses the vast amount of high-quality studies
showing the effectiveness of hydrotherapy. A new field of
research focuses on the cost-effectiveness of hydrotherapy
vs. other forms of treatment.
Like
many descriptive names, the word "hydropathy"
is defective and even misleading, the active agents in the
treatment being heat and cold, of which water is little more
than the vehicle, and not the only one. "Thermotherapeutics"
(or "thermotherapy") is a term less open
to objection. |
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Alternative Therapies,
Alternative Medicine, Holistic medicine, Aromatherapy, Ayurveda,
Diet Therapy, Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy, Humor Therapy, Hydrotherapy,
Light Therapy, Meditation, Music Therapy, Neuro Linguistic Programming,
NLP, Pet Therapy, Reiki, Shiatsu, Sound Therapy, Yoga
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