Is Soaking in Cold Water Good for You? 5 Hydrotherapy Techniques for Your Health

Is Soaking in Cold Water Good for You? 5 Hydrotherapy Techniques for Your Health

Water has been a key element of achieving stress relief and unlocking the body's natural healing power for eons, owning a home cold plunge tub worth it.

Aside from water being a basic need for the body's internal organs, it's necessary for the body's internal activity, including cardiac output and proper nervous system function.

Staying hydrated leads to a significant improvement in everything from physical therapy outcomes to physical medicine treatments.

5 Healing Hydrotherapy Techniques at Home

In any of its forms—liquid, steam, or ice, water offers effective treatment for people needing to improve their health status in a variety of ways. Different types of hydrotherapy can also be a therapeutic method for easing mental stressors.

Research has found links between various forms of hydrotherapy and a decrease in depression symptoms and anxiety levels.

Today, many different types of hydrotherapy are used widely for the treatment of numerous medical conditions and chronic illnesses, including mental health problems.

Hydrotherapy Technique One:

Boost Your Health with Contrast Showers

Alternate from hot to cold water in the shower. Start the routine with a 10-minute steaming hot shower, then switch to cold water for one to two minutes.

Similar to the concept of alternating between hot and cold compresses, contrast therapy helps stimulate blood circulation, but it can also help reduce chronic pain, soothe sore muscles, and raise mood levels.

Hydrotherapy Technique Two:

Using Steam Baths for Stress and Tension Relief

Steam baths are one of the oldest forms of natural medicine involving hydrotherapy. Steam treatments can help boost the immune system by helping rid the body of toxins, along with the improved function of the circulatory system.

People who use steam baths also report stress reduction and a sense of well-being as additional therapeutic effects.

At home, a steam bath can be created in the shower, either by standing in the hot water as the steam emerges or by turning the hot water all the way up and staying in the bathroom as the steam fills the room.

Hydrotherapy Technique Three:

Hydrotherapy Aquatic Exercise

Compared with conventional land-based therapy, aquatic exercise therapy can be even more effective at improving the cardiovascular system and hypertension for people who have other health problems, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Though once believed to increase the risk of heart failure, research now indicates cardiac function actually improves during cold water-based exercise because the amount of blood getting pumped to the heart increases.

Aquatic workout routines are a gentle way to ease into exercise without straining joints or muscles, making it perfect for those with injuries or more years under their belt. Most of the time, aquatic exercise routines are performed in a pool and usually at a more comfortable temperature.

One reason why aquatic exercise is a great workout option is that water provides natural resistance in whichever direction you move. Exercising in water can help tone and build lean muscle without adding too much strain on the bones.

Examples of water exercise routines can include:

Walking in Deep Water - you can swim to one end of the pool and walk or run back.

Aerobics in the Water - get a whole new type of workout with aerobics in the water. Many water aerobics routines can take place in the shallow end of a pool, and some even include water weights for additional effort.

Water Weightlifting - you’ll need a set of purpose-made water weights for the pool, but otherwise, you simply do reps of common free weight exercises.

Swimming Laps - of course, swimming is one of the most effective methods for getting your heart rate up and working stress off.

Hydrotherapy Technique Four:

Cold Water Hydrotherapy Treatments at Home

Improving blood flow throughout the body is one of the primary benefits of cold water therapy at home.

Dunking in cold water helps the body better regulate blood pressure, boosting blood circulation to internal organs and delivering vital white blood cells to heal the body naturally.

Hydrotherapy pools make cold plunging right in your home convenient. Whenever you want pain relief from sore muscles or water therapy for better diastolic blood pressure, a RENU Therapy cold plunge tub in your home or small business makes it possible.

But before diving right in, it's important to build up using a cold therapy acclimation routine.

Begin With A Cold Shower Routine

The best approach to cold plunge hydrotherapy is to ease into it with cold shower hydrotherapy treatments.

Begin with cold showers for 15-30 seconds, then increase your time as you get used to enduring the cold. You'll still gain some of the benefits of cold tub therapy, but without as much difficulty as full submersion in frigid water.

Most importantly, always consult with your medical provider before starting a cold shower or cold plunging routine.

Cold Plunge Hydrotherapy for Pain and Inflammation

When injured or having a chronic pain flare-up, using rest, ice, compression, and elevation can be helpful.

Cold hydrotherapy can provide the cold element of injury, pain, and inflammation treatment. Beyond the internal health benefits, cold therapy can offer healing power for those who suffer from inflammatory skin conditions like acne and rosacea.

How Long Do You Stay in a Cold Plunge Hydrotherapy Tub?

When starting with cold hydrotherapy in your RENU cold tub, it's essential to limit your hydrotherapy session to ten minutes.

But first, consult your doctor about the amount of time that's safe for you to spend in a cold bath tub. For most people, ten minutes is plenty to enjoy all of the health benefits cold hydrotherapy treatment offers.

Hydrotherapy Technique Five:

Contrast Cold Water Hydrotherapy with a Hot Sauna

While low-level contrast therapy in the shower using cold and hot water can be mildly effective, combining a cold water immersion tub and hot sauna from RENU Therapy deliver the best results.

A typical contrast therapy routine starts with 20 minutes of hot sauna time, followed by a two to three-minute cold plunge.

Keeping the two units close to each other is ideal, and RENU makes this easy with our line of efficiently-sized cold plunge tubs and hot saunas.

Get the health benefits of a cold hydrotherapy treatment any time, contact us at RENU Therapy today!