Hydrotherapy is the use of water for stimulating, balancing and detoxing the body. Hydrotherapeutic techniques range from cold baths started in the late 1600’s to constitutional hydrotherapy started by Dr. Carroll in the 1950’s. These therapies became famous in Europe with physicians, lay healers, or priests that used water as their primary source of healing diseases and conditions, some as serious as the plague. The type of hydrotherapy used at IHC varies with each patient’s presentation and the conditions present but may begin with a constitutional treatment. This treatment consists of separate hot and cold applications on the chest and back along with mild sine-wave electrical stimulation in reflex points that stimulate digestion and immune function. The hot application draws the blood to the surface of the skin via vasodilatation, opening up blood pools in the veins and increasing circulation resulting in more circulating blood to oxygenate and carry nutrients. The hot application also opens the pores on the skin increasing perspiration resulting in amplified detoxification.
The results of the hot/cold applications:
• Stimulate circulation through the internal organs causing an increase of oxygen and nutrients in the blood.
• Increase digestive enzyme production.
• Create movement of white blood cells into the lymphatic chains, especially of the gastrointestinal mucosa.
This type of treatment has affinity for most conditions and can induce a gentle detoxification, improve digestion, immune and nerve function and increase vitality.
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