Hydrotherapy

 

'Scientific application of water in treatment of disease' 

 - Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary (Thomas, 1993: 927) 

 

 

 

Hydrotherapy is a Traditional, also known as Complementary, Medicine (T&CM) that is practiced in parts of the UK as well as Europe and other parts of the world. In Europe, its roots stretch back to ancient Greek and Roman civilisations where medical practices were 'enriched' through the influence of diverse cultural groups within empire territories 'including those of Northern and Eastern Europe...the Middle East and North Africa' (FEMTEC, 2015: 14).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hydrotherapeutic practices were established in Britain by occupying Romans although, according to folklore, the curative properties of waters such as Aquae Sulis, Bath, were recognised long before foreign occupation. Bath's mineral-rich geothermal waters are testimony to the hedonistic health-seeking activities of antiquity as well as modern-day society. Contemporary hydrotherapeutic practices continue to promote health and well-being through integrating restorative techniques alongside recreational activities.

 

Recent research (Adams, 2015) suggests that Hydrotherapy, in both the UK and Europe, had gained the respect of mainstream biomedicine by the late 19th century. It was considered to be a 'rational therapeutic approach' (ibid: 52). In the UK, however, Hydrotherapy's medical status has been in steady decline since the 1950s. The history of the British Spas Federation (BSF) reflects that of the water cure industry in this part of the world. Between the years 1921-2004, the BSF sought to unite and promote the activities of Hydrotherapy centres many of which worked in partnership with local authorities and medical trusts. The organisation's demise was due, in part, to the gradual loss of financial support from the National Health Service (NHS) and simultaneous rise of the leisure industry. Click here for an illuminating article by Malvern historian Dr Bruce Osborne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Europe, hydrotherapeutic practices retained their medical status and continue to thrive as a result of state and / or private insurance contributions towards treatments. At the 2015 Congress of the World Federation of Hydrotherapy, Thermae & Medical Wellness, a new user-orientated European association was formed to develop 'greater “thermal and wellbeing awareness” inspired by four pillars – research, training, technological innovation, and communication' (FEMTEC, 2015c). Disease prevention and the pro-active involvement of consumers are key tenets of this initiative.

 

 

So what is Hydrotherapy? And how does it work?

 

A report by the World Federation of Hydrotherapy and Climatotherapy (FEMTEC) and Fondazione per la Ricerca Scientifica Termale (FoRST) loosely defines hydrotherapy as 'the use of water in different physical conditions and chemical compositions with many methodologies - both traditional and scientific - to treat and prevent health problems as well as to keep people healthy' (2013: 11). The report's participating countries included: China, Cuba, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Tunisia. The most common presenting symptoms related to 'chronic inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases' (ibid: 20), whilst the most common form of practice was found to be Balneotherapy. 

 

As the above recognises, hydrotherapeutic practices make use of water's physical characteristics. Practices are thought to encourage the body's self-healing ability by stimulating, or sedating, individual organs and / or systems of the body through variations in water temperature, pressure and mineral content. The latter, a key characteristic of Balneotherapy, includes drinking, bathing and mud applications. Hydrotherapy, in general, is used to treat 'respiratory, bone-joint and vascular conditions' although it is also recognised as having 'beneficial effects on the entire human body' (ibid: 8). Click here to read the full report. Abstracts from more than 90 research papers are included in the appendices. Click here for a recent review of literature concerning the evidence-based effects of hydrotherapeutic practices. Mechanisms that explain these effects, in biomedical terms, remain unclear.