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Hydrotherapy
can help the body repair itself!
When joints are damaged, inflamed or painful, muscles become
more tense in an effort to protect themselves. Hydrotherapy can
help. The buoyancy of water puts less stress on the muscles because
they support less weight, and by moving and exercising the affected
joints, while in the water, the muscles become more limber and pain
is often reduced, even after leaving the spa.
Spa therapy for lower back pain.
People who just have a bad back, or are sore from heavy
lifting, or suffer from bending over in the garden all day, can
find instant relief, by having their own relaxing portable spa pool
in the house or back yard.
Lower back pain is the number two reason in New Zealand (after
colds and flu) for a visit to the doctor, thousands of people suffer
needlessly.
For many years Europeans have used spa therapy (soaking in hot
baths of mineral water) as an alternative treatment for various
chronic diseases. Yet, the effectiveness of such therapy for chronic
lower back pain has not been well documented.
In
1995, a study published in the British Journal of Rheumatology offered
evidence that spa tub therapy aids both short and long term benefits
for people with lower back pain. A later study, published in the
Journal of Rheumatology by a group of researchers in France, sought
to confirm these results and quantify the overall benefits of spa
therapy.
After three weeks of consistent spa therapy, examinations showed
more improvement in the health status (as measured in pain duration
and intensity and back flexibility) of the spa treatment group than
in the medication only group. After six months, significant improvement
continued in the spa therapy group. In addition, their use of analgesics
and anti-inflammatory drugs had decreased. The preceding research
information was featured in the March-April 1996 issue of Arthritis
Today, compiled and edited by Mary Anne Dunkin.
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