Hydrotherapy uses massage, heat, and buoyancy to accelerate your body’s natural healing process, and promote physical and mental health benefits. Numerous studies have shown the healing properties of using a hot tub and/or swim spa. We have compiled a basic list of some of the benefits of using a hot tub and/or swim spa.
Ways Hydrotherapy Helps your Health
1. Improve healing
– Hydrotherapy improves circulation which in turn helps increase the speed of healing. Improving circulation helps speed recovery in damaged tissue, the jet action found in spas can promote healing by providing even more oxygen to the area that is provided by warm water alone. The heat and pressure from the jets can also raise the level of antibodies and white blood cells delivered to the area, promoting the destruction of bad cells and stimulating the formation of new tissue. Please remember though open wounds or recent cuts are prone to infection and therefore you should not use a hot tub if you have cuts or open wounds. Make sure its safe to enter a hot tub after surgery by checking with your doctor.
2. Better Sleep
– Hydrotherapy helps those suffering from mild to chronic insomnia and other sleep disorders. Hot water is proven to relax you this, in turn, helps you sleep. You can add some aromatherapy with scents also proven to relax and help with sleep such as lavender. Just don’t fall asleep in the hot tub that wouldn’t be good at all.
3. Cardiovascular Disease
– Hydrotherapy and Aquatic activity can help those suffering from cardiovascular disease and other heart-related problems. It helps reduce high blood pressure and promotes blood flow. Dr. Bruce Becker, M.D., says immersion in water up to your neck gives you a cardiac workout. How do you ask? Water places pressure on your body this makes your heart work harder and that means your heart is getting exercise. Exercising your heart is important for heart health.
Watch Dr. Bruce Becker talk about arterial health and how aquatic activity can help.
For more ways that aquatic activity can help your health visit the National Swimming Pool Foundation’s YouTube Channel
Mayo Clinic researcher Thomas Allison, M.P.H., Ph.D. did a study that shows that sitting in a spa bath can lower your blood pressure. This is great for those who are at risk for heart disease or suffer from hypertension. Of course, if you suffer from those problems you should consult your doctor but the research of Dr. Allison has shown that hot water like in spa baths increase your heart rate while lowering your blood pressure which helps reinforce our earlier fact that it can help your cardiovascular health. – Lifehack.org
4. Type 2 Diabetes
– Studies have shown that using a hot tub for 30 minutes a day, six days a week for 30 minutes a day, six days a week, for three weeks can reduce dosages of insulin by as much as 18 percent. In addition, the same study mean weight and fasting plasma glucose levels can decrease. (Reported on Sept. 16, 1999, in the New England Journal of Medicine).
Consider this from the National Institute of Health (NIH)
Regular thermal therapy, using saunas or hot baths, has the potential to improve impaired insulin sensitivity and boost endothelial expression of the “constitutive” isoform of nitric oxide synthase–effects…
– National Institute of Health (NIH)
Furthermore, they say:
…Previous clinical reports suggest that hot tubs may be beneficial for diabetic control
– National Institute of Health (NIH)
5. Pain Relief from Massage Therapy
– Massage therapy can relieve muscle tension and alleviates stress. If you have specific areas of pain and discomfort, the release of “trigger points” and chronic muscle tension by pulsating warm water jets create long lasting change and better health. This type of therapy is especially useful in relieving neck, back, and shoulder pain. People with Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Tendonitis, Scoliosis, and Bursitis have all benefited from hot tub use. In addition, hot tub use has been known to temporarily relieve pain from arthritis, back, headaches, inflammatory disease, and general muscle soreness. The jets of the spa provide massage to your muscles which can relax your muscles, improve blood flow and loosen the joints.
National Institute of Health (NIH) has a great article on massage and it’s benefits to health. With a My Swimmer spa or swim spa massage is provided by the water jets.
“Massage therapy has been noted to relax the nervous system by slowing heart rate and blood pressure. Stress and pain hormones are also decreased by massage, reducing pain and enhancing immune function,” says Dr. Tiffany Field, who heads a touch research institute at the University of Miami Medical School.
– National Institute of Health (NIH)
Deep tissue therapy and neuromuscular release is the main focus of massage therapy while relaxing in a My Swimmer Spa.
6. Mental Health Benefits
– In addition to physical health benefits hydrotherapy has been found to help with mental health. Endorphins are a feel-good chemical, this natural chemical causes you to feel contentment, pleasure and reduce the effects of stress. Endorphins help with depression, stress relief, and relaxation. Soaking in a hot tub can help you produce endorphins which then helps your mental health. 
In addition to the hydrotherapy adding aromatherapy and/or music can enhance your experience even further for mental health benefits. Consider this quote about mental health and taking care of oneself, from the Subtance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA)
Take a warm bath. This may sound simplistic, but it helps. If you are lucky enough to have access to a Jacuzzi or hot tub, it’s even better. Warm water is relaxing and healing.
– Subtance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA)
Even the CDC says hydrotherapy has mental and physical health benefits they say this about mental health:
Water-based exercise improves mental health. Swimming can improve mood in both men and women. For people with fibromyalgia, it can decrease anxiety and exercise therapy in warm water can decrease depression and improve mood. Water-based exercise can improve the health of mothers and their unborn children and has a positive effect on the mothers’ mental health. Parents of children with developmental disabilities find that recreational activities, such as swimming, improve family connections.
– Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Are you convinced you need a spa or swim spa yet? My Swimmer can help you find the right model for your health needs and wants. Call us today at 1-833-USA-SWIM.