Hydrotherapy (Jala chikitsa)

Steam bath

Hydrotherapy involves the use of water for healing, revitalizing, soothing pains and treating diseases. Today, hydrotherapy is used to treat musculoskeletal disorders, such as arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis or spinal cord injuries and also in patients suffering from burns, spasticity, stroke or paralysis. They include treatments such as cold baths, saunas and steam baths, Seitz baths, etc.

Cold baths : Cold baths, improve blood flow to internal tissues and organs. They help to reduce swelling.

Seitz bath : The patient first sits in the warm water, which covers the lower abdomen and hips, with the feet in an adjacent cold water compartment of the special bath. After three minutes, the patient sits in the cold water with the feet in the warm compartment. These baths are given as treatment for painful conditions with broken skin, such as piles or anal fissure, and also for ailments affecting the urinary and genital organs.

Steam bath : Steam baths are used to encourage sweating and the opening of skin pores. It has a cleansing and refreshing effect.

Neutral bath : Water which is at the same temperature as the body (called neutral bath) has a marked relaxing and sedative effect on the nervous system. This is used to calm patients who are in a state of stress.