The History of Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy – the application of alternating hot and cold temperatures to the body – has been utilized as a healing modality for at least 4000 years. As a student in naturopathic school hydrotherapy was taught as one of the core naturopathic therapies and I did a clinical rotation as a “hydro tech” while in school. Later, as co-owner of a large clinic in Portland we collaborated with the naturopathic college by bringing in students to act as a hydro tech in our clinic, delivering this important therapy to our patients.
Research on Contrast Water Therapy
A number of studies have looked at the therapeutic benefits of CWT. For athletes it has been shown to decrease muscle soreness and increase strength after exercise. Contrast therapy has also shown to help relieve knee pain due to osteoarthritis, and to reduce both pain and swelling of sprained ankles.
Oxygenation and Circulation Benefits
Contrast therapy has also been shown to enhance oxygenation of the body, with both oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentrations increasing significantly after application of a contrast bath. In that study subjects immersed one lower leg into water that was 38C – 40C (100.4F – 104F) for 10 minutes, followed by immersion in 8C – 10C (46.4F – 50F) for 1 minute. Then 4 minutes hot and 1 min cold through another 3 repetitions of that cycle.
Easy At-Home Methods
Contrast therapy at home requires no fancy anything. A version of it that I have recommended to many patients is as simple as finishing your daily shower with a cold rinse: at the end of the shower, the last thing to do before getting out is to turn the temperature down. Initially you might only tolerate a tepid temperature, not full-on cold. Over time, continue going for colder and colder water so that eventually you can tolerate completely cold water for the final 30 seconds-or-so of your shower.
Enhanced Contrast Shower Protocol
To really enhance the blood-pumping effect of alternating temperatures, finish the cold by turning it back to the warm/hot normal shower temperature for about a minute, then back to cold, then warm/hot, then cold. Do 3 or 4 cycles, and always always always finish your showers with a cool/cold rinse, not hot.
Constitutional Hydrotherapy at Home
There is a “traditional” way to perform hydrotherapy, a method called “constitutional hydrotherapy.” It involves contrast therapy that can be applied to either the whole body or just the upper torso. One method for doing constitutional hydrotherapy at home is to ring out two terry cloth towels that are soaked in hot water (tolerable to touch). Wring them out to the point of not dripping, but no less. In other words, you want as much water remaining in the towel without them dripping.
Lie down and place those over your exposed torso, from neck to pelvis. Keep them in place for 5 minute. After 5 minutes, set the warm towels aside and replace them with a single towel that has been soaked in cold water, then rung out in the same way the previously. Then cover the cold towel with a blanket to “lock in” the cold.
You should leave the cold towel in place for about 10 minutes or however long it takes for your body to heat up the cold towel to your body temperature. The first time this could take 15 or even 20 minutes. With repeated applications of this therapy it will take less and less time for your body to warm the cold towel. That is a very good sign, indicating that your vitality is increasing and thus also your ability to recover and maintain your health.
Advancing the Therapy
The next step in home constitutional hydrotherapy, if you have someone who is there to help, is to repeat the process while lying face down: first 10 minutes hot, then cold with a blanket over it until you have warmed the towel to body temperature.
The Benefits of CWT for All
CWT is a therapy that is available to virtually everyone who wants to use it. There are multiple studies showing a range of benefits of simply alternating hot/cold temperature over specific areas of the body, whether to speed healing or to enhance circulation and immunity. Constitutional hydrotherapy, though, is in a class by itself. As vitality increases with repeated daily applications of the therapy, quality of life improves along with it, along with an enhanced ability to respond to any other therapies you might be engaged in to improve your health.
