Hydrotherapy rehabilitation is a technique which uses water to relieve pain and aid in physical rehabilitation making it one of many hot tub health benefits. A hydrotherapy hot tub or a hydrotherapy spa allows for hydrotherapy physiotherapy to be achieved at home in the comfort of your own hot tub.

The hydrotherapy spauses water jets and underwater massage to stimulate muscles and joints, relieving pain and encouraging repair. The water temperature and pressure in a hydrotherapy hot tub help with hydrotherapy rehabilitation, stimulating blood flow around problem areas, allowing more oxygen to be provided to cells and allowing pain-causing chemical build ups to be removed from the area. This can all help to reduce the time required to rebuild and repair damaged muscles. Physical problems such as reduced mobility, limited joint movement, muscle spasms, weakened muscles and bad posture can all be improved through hydrotherapy. Hydrotherapy spas can also aid with conditions including arthritis, low back and neck pain, muscle injuries, following surgery and Cardiac rehabilitation following a heart attack, a coronary angioplasty or heart surgery.

The buoyancy of water in a hydrotherapy spa can support a person's weight, the load -bearing duties of the muscles and joints are reduced or removed, offering relief and providing time for rebuilding. A hydrotherapy spa offers pain relief in a completely natural form with no use of drugs, making it suitable as a secondary therapy for most joint and muscle regenerative programmes. The warmth of the hot tub water and the stimulating water jets lower blood pressure and cause your body to release endorphins which help you to cope with pain whilst also releasing tension and pressure on the joint or muscle. The water pressure exerted on the body can help to reduce and relieve swellings, increasing movement and reducing pain, giving the body time to rebuild muscle strength. The water jets found in a hydrotherapy spa can be used during hydrotherapy rehabilitation directly on any problem areas, stimulating blood flow in order to reduce pain and swelling. The gentle massaging effect of the hydrotherapy spa water jets will relax muscles and joints, bringing relief, comfort and increased mobility.

A hydrotherapy spa treatment usually includes gentle stretching and exercises which increase mobility and aid muscle rebuilding, complete floatation, bring relief through the removal of weight and pressure from joints as well as exercises with weights and paddles which exploit water resistance to rebuild and strengthen the muscles. As you move faster through the water, resistance will increase. This "graded resistance" is beneficial to injury recovery.

Hydrotherapy Health Benefits

Water pressure exerted on the body whilst submerged in a hot tub or spa will result in the heart working harder, due to an increase in pressure on veins, arteries and organs. This increased heart rate can be beneficial by increasing the heart's flow rate - the amount of blood pumped with each heart beat. Like any other muscle, when it has to work harder than normal, over time it will become stronger. In the case of the heart, this results in the flow rate improving, helping the heart to circulate blood around the body more efficiently. The water's buoyancy in a hydrotherapy spa allows people with limited mobility to achieve movement beyond their normal on-land capabilities due to feeling lighter. For example, walking and running may not be achievable on land due to a weak muscle or the result of surgery, but as the water supports weight, it will be more achievable during hydrotherapy rehabilitation.

The bubbles created by the jets of a hydrotherapy spa are soothing, helping with pain relief and encouraging relaxation helping to improve breathing efficiency and are often used at the beginning and the end of a hydrotherapy session as part of the warm up and warm down period. Hydrotherapy Rehabilitation and a hydrotherapy spa not only aids in the rebuilding of muscles and joints, but can also be used for skin ailments. The warmth of the hydrotherapy spa's water and the water jets both improve blood flow helping to purge toxins through the skin, improving complexion and helping with conditions such as cellulite and water retention.