Hydrotherapy is the use of hot and cold water for the maintenance of health and treatment of disease. These are therapies that stimulate circulation and healing, often with the only other effect being cleanliness. Naturopathic medicine is in part rooted in the European hydrotherapy movement, centuries old and still thriving.

The best known American hydropath was John Harvey Kellogg, a medical doctor who approached hydrotherapy scientifically and performed many experiments to determine the physiological effects of hot and cold water. His book, Rational Hydrotherapy, is considered one of the definitive texts on the therapeutic effects of water. It also has an extensive discussion of the actual techniques.

The healing and recuperative properties of hydro therapy are due to it's thermal and mechanical effects. It employs the body's reaction to hot and cold stimuli. From the skin the nerves carry impulses deeper into the body. This is instrumental in lessening pain sensitivity, invigorating blood flow and circulation, increasing the production of stress hormones and stimulating the immune system.

Hydrotherapy's more conventional uses are the treatment of muscle weakness, balance disorders, diabetes and other diseases that impair circulation, cramps, premenstrual syndrome, arthritis, back pain, musculo-skeletal injuries and soft tissue injuries.

Constitutional hydrotherapy is a special technique which greatly improves recovery from many illness, both acute and chronic, such as fatigue, arthritis, bronchitis, food poisoning, heart disease, influenza and chronic constipation to name a few. It has been used successfully by thousands of naturopathic physicians for over a century and at one time was standard medical treatment for many illnesses, in hospitals and clinics.

Hydrotherapy works so well because it acts to stimulate the body's own healing force. During the treatment the patient lies comfortably on a soft table while hot towels are applied over the upper torso. The person is then wrapped in a sheet and covered with several layers of blankets. Once the skin is warmed, a single cold towel is exchanged for the heated one. The body, well prepared by the preceding warmth, reacts to this temperature change by greatly increasing the blood flow to the skin and the internal organs of the chest and abdomen. Hydrotherapy researchers have shown that a reflex increase in blood flow occurs in internal organs when the circulation to the overlying skin is stimulated. It is this internal reaction which is responsible for the long lasting and cumulative effects of a series of hydrotherapy treatments. Research has further shown that the beneficial effects on the immune system last for up to 24 hours making this a very effective therapy for any disorder involving immune function.

To enhance these effects, a mild electrical stimulation is applied over the spine during the treatment. Certain modifications may be made during the therapy depending on the persons ability to react to it and the type of disease being addressed.

The benefits of constitutional hydrotherapy include an improvement in sleep, digestion, bowel function, an increase in your energy level and a reduction in chronic pain. We have found that other naturopathic therapies such as herbal medicines, special diets or homeopathy often work better due to concurrent constitutional hydrotherapy treatments. Some of our colleagues however, rely entirely on hydrotherapy to produce cures of many serious and seemingly incurable illnesses.

We have found that for the best results, constitutional hydrotherapy should be repeated 3 or 4 times per week for several weeks. The number of treatments needed is in part determined by your specific illness and your physician. Many of our patients have found it extremely beneficial to combat the early onset of a cold or flu or just as a treatment to make them feel better following a stressful period in their life.