Hydrotherapy is a useful way to heal and ease a range of ailments and it has been used in different ways. Previously, I have written one particular post on cold shower. Today, I will be expanding on the 3 types of baths to help you understand how hot, cold and neutral baths works in hydrotherapy.
Hot baths
Hot baths is an indulgence type of hydrotherapy. You know it and experience its benefits in your bathroom. Hot baths or showers can help to ease muscles, joint pains and inflammation. Typically, a bath with the temperature between 36.5 Deg C and 40 Deg C is very useful to relax your muscles, dilate the blood vessels, open the skin pores and stimulate perspiration. In fact, hot bath is sedative, acts on the surface nerves as well as the autonomic nervous system and will reduce the activity of the hormonal glands, especially the adrenal. Some of us might not be aware that ten minutes of hot bath is good enough; beyond that, it can result in the opposite effect. So remember to time your hot baths time to reap its benefits.
Cold baths
If you are seeking to improve blood flow to internal parts of your body, cold bath may be the answer. It can constrict the blood vessel and divert the blood to internal tissues and organs to maintain the normal body temperature to function. The cold can also reduce swellings from bruises as well. You can splash or immerse in water, particularly on the inflammed or sore area to reduce the swelling. However, just as the principles of tepid sponging (to reduce fever) in nursing, it is essential to dry yourself quickly to prevent chilling. From my personal experience as a cold shower convert, I have mild breathless after a cold shower. Now, I didn't feel the breathlessness anymore and I also felt my body more resistant to common colds as well.
Neutral baths
It is said that the water used that has the same temperature (33.5 Deg C to 35.6 Deg C) with the body can also provide a sedative and relaxing effect on your body. The use of cold and hot baths targets at our stimuli that can affect our hormonal system. Thus, with neutral bath, it can calm a person in a state of stress. While hot and cold baths can provide two extreme effects on your body, the neutral bath does not strain too hard on the blood circulation, particularly the heart. A reccomended time for immersion in neutral bath requires at least 30 min and can be longer than that.
My previous related blog post
1) Cold Shower is good for health
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